Book A8The Story of Zal and Rudabeh

One day young Zal set forth in royal state,To stir beyond the borders of his gate.

With chosen chiefs who shared his faith and mind,He rode with loyal comrades of one kind.

To view the lands of Hind and Kabul wide,With Mai, Danbar, and Morgh on every side.

At every stage a splendid seat was laid,With wine and harp, and festival arrayed.

He poured out treasure, gave himself to cheer,Such is the custom of this transient sphere.

With open hand, a glad and carefree heart,He reached fair Kabul, pleased to play his part.

There ruled a monarch, Mehrab was his name,A lord of wealth, established power, and fame,

In form a cypress, tall and finely made,His springlike bloom and stately step displayed.

A wise man’s heart, a noble’s mind refined,A warrior’s shoulders, Mobad wit combined.

From Zahhak’s Tazi stock his lineage came,He ruled Kabul and held its lands in name.

But lacking strength to stand with Sahm in might,He sent his tribute yearly as was right.

When news arrived that Sahm’s own son drew near,He rose at dawn and gathered treasures dear,

Fine steeds adorned, slave-boys and minted gold,With musk and rubies, silks of broidered fold,

With ambergris and gold-brocaded ware,And peridot set bright with jeweler’s care.

Rich furs and crowns with jewels all set in light,And golden torques that shimmered full and bright.

With chiefs and troops in long and ordered line,He came to greet young Zal in state benign.

The word reached Zal: “The lord of Kabul ridesWith all his court and power on all sides.”

Then Zal went forth to meet him on the plain,With courtesy that honored both their reigns.

In joy they came together, side by side,And mounted to the throne in mutual pride.

A feast was spread, befitting men of name,And wine flowed freely as the minstrels came.

While cups were passed and music filled the air,Young Zal beheld Mehrab with measured care;

He gazed with wonder, stirred by what he saw,And felt both admiration and deep awe.

At Mehrab’s wisdom Zal was satisfied:“The father of such a man has never died.”

When Mehrab rose, Zal watched his noble frame,And spoke before the chiefs in loud acclaim:

“Who matched his grace when girded for the field?What equal frame has ever armor sealed?

In look and carriage who could rival him?What warrior stands his equal, life and limb?”

A noble standing near then raised his voice,And made Zal’s listening heart at once rejoice:

“My lord, he has a daughter fair of face,A wonder formed of beauty, form, and grace.

More radiant than sunlight after rain,From head to foot like ivory without stain.

Her stature is a saj-tree, straight and high,Her face a paradise beneath the sky.

Two musk-black kamands deck her shoulders white,Their ends like anklet-rings curl close and tight.

Her mouth a pomegranate blossom’s flame,Her lips the fruit that puts red gems to shame.

Two pomegranates swell upon her breast,Her narcissus eyes give every heart unrest.

Her lashes borrow darkness from the night,Her brows are bows drawn firm in perfect height.

Seek out the moon: it shines upon her face;Seek musk: it breathes from every darkened trace.

From head to foot a marvel past all price,A living, breathing, earthly paradise.”

These words stirred tumult in young Zal’s own soul,And robbed his reason, spurning all control.

He thought: “If such the father’s noble grace,What must be hers, what light must fill her face?”

Night fell; he sat in troubled, silent care,Consumed by one unseen, yet called most fair.

When dawn struck bright upon the mountain’s crest,The world in crystal-white was newly dressed.

The warriors gathered, golden swords arrayed,And stood before young Zal, their homage paid.

The Pahlevan’s court stood ordered that day,As fit for chiefs who came in proud array.

Then Mehrab, Kabul’s lord, resumed his way,Toward Zal’s pavilion at the dawn’s first ray.

Before the tent the herald’s cry rang clear:“Make way! The lord of all Kabul draws near!”

Fresh as a laden tree in bloom he came,And Zal received him warmly, praised his name.

Zal’s heart grew glad; in honor of his guest,He seated Mehrab high above the rest.

Then Zal spoke warmly, honoring his renown:“Ask what you will; my throne, seal, sword, or crown.”

Mehrab replied: “O king whose word is law,Victorious lord whom all behold with awe,

One wish alone I cherish in this life,And granting it would bring you little strife:

That you would visit me and light my hall,And make my spirit rise beyond its wall.”

But Zal said: “No, this cannot come to pass;Such paths are not for us to tread, alas.

My father would not sanction such a deed,Nor would the Shah approve where it might lead.

They would hear we drink our wine till drunk we grow,Then to the idol-worshippers we go.

Ask anything but this; I shall comply,And gladly look on you with favoring eye.”

Mehrab spoke blessings, outwardly serene;Within, he judged Zal faithless and unclean.

Then Mehrab left the throne with measured pace,And blessed Zal’s fortune as he left the place.

Zal watched him go and praised him to the crowd,And Mehrab’s worth before the chiefs avowed.

For long had many deemed him strange, apart,An outland being, distant in his heart;

Because he did not share their path or creed,Their tongues withheld the praise his worth might need.

But when Zal spoke with warmth and open praise,The courtiers too began their tongues to raise,

Then one by one the nobles praised his name,And every chief acknowledged Mehrab’s fame.

They lauded now his stature, speech, and grace,His polished manners and his measured pace.

But Zal himself was lost in inward fire,His reason dimmed by newly waked desire.

An Arab chief once spoke in caution thus:“A horse and open sky suffice for us.

I need no bride, lest vanity arise,And bring me shame before the learned wise.”

Yet Zal, now pierced and restless in his mind,Could neither peace nor former wisdom find.

He feared the tongues that scandal sets in play,To stain the honor that had come his way.

So turned the heavens slowly overhead,While love and doubt within his spirit spread.

At dawn one day, when morning light was new,Mehrab came back from Zal’s court as dawn grew.

And toward the women’s chamber made his way,Where two bright suns outshone the dawning day.

One was Rudabeh, radiant was her face,Mehrab’s fair daughter, bright as heaven’s grace,

The other, Sindokht, in her counsel wise,His cherished queen, the light before his eyes.

Both lay adorned like gardens rich in bloom,With scent and color filling all the room.

He gazed at Rudabeh in deep delight,And blessed her beauty, shining soft and bright.

She seemed a cypress in the moonlight fair,With ambergris-dark locks and silken wear.

A living treasure, gleaming to the view,A hoard that gladdened every eye it drew.

Then Sindokht smiled, her teeth like pearls revealed,Her purpose hidden, and her thoughts concealed:

“How went your visit? Tell me what you saw.May fortune shine on you without a flaw.

What kind of man is Zal, with snow-white hair?More fit for throne, or for the mountain lair?

Does he behave as men of honor should,And walk the path of chiefs both brave and good?”

Mehrab replied: “No warrior on this earthCan match his bearing or his proven worth.

No equal form has graced these royal walls,No firmer hand has answered battle’s calls.

In heart a lion, elephant in might,His arms like Nile’s broad waters in their flight.

Upon the throne, his gifts and honors flow,In war, he strikes and lays his foemen low.

His face is bright as blossoms newly grown,His mind is sharp, his rising fortune known.

In vengeance like a mighty nahang of dread,In saddle like a sharp-clawed dragon sped.

He turns the dust to red upon the plain,And wields a blade no enemy can restrain.

One fault alone is said where he is known:His hair is white! No other flaw is shown.

Yet even this becomes him in my sight;He draws all hearts despite that streak of white.”

When Rudabeh heard this, her cheeks flushed red,Like blossoms opening on a rose-bright bed.

Her heart filled suddenly with longing fire,And love for Zal consumed her with desire.

She could not rest or eat or think with ease,Her thoughts were tossed like leaves on restless seas.

Her nature changed, her peace was cast aside,And passion ruled where reason once did guide.

A counselor once spoke this warning clear:“Do not speak much of men where women hear.”

“A woman’s heart,” he said, “the Div may claim;From what she hears, she fashions her own aim.”

Rudabeh had five Turk maidens at her side,All loyal, thoughtful, steadfast, true, and tried.

To them she spoke: “I hold a secret deep,A truth I trust you all to guard and keep.

Attend me now and help me through this fire;And understand the weight of my desire.

You five have shared my fortune year by year,My confidantes in every hope and fear.

Know this: I love, and like a storming seaMy heart swells high with waves that master me.

My thoughts are fixed on Zal, and cannot stray;His image will not turn or fade away.

His love has seized my mind, my sense, my breath;Without him I am lost in living death.

Though I have never seen his face or frame,Report alone has set my heart aflame.

It is not beauty, nor his silver hair;His worth alone has drawn me to its snare.”

The maidens heard and trembled in surprise:“The princess speaks in folly and denies

Her honor, rank, and all her noble place!How can she seek such love in such a case?”

They rose against her, voices sharp with fear,And spoke with force that filled the chamber clear:

“O crown of women, shining bright and high,Praised from Hind to Chin underneath the sky,

Your painted likeness reaches courts afar,To Ghanooj, Mai, and lands beneath each star.

No cypress equals you in form and height,Your beauty dims the stars that shine at night.

Your image travels far across the land,Desired by kings who seek your noble hand.

Have you forgotten rank and duty owed,That you would take this strange and reckless road?

His father cast him out in shame and doubt,A child whom none would dare to speak about.

He lived upon a mountain, wild and bare,No human kin, sustained by a bird’s care.

No mother ever bore an old man so;Why seek the white-haired man your heart would know?

Your beauty draws all hearts; your fame is wide,Why choose a man the world has set aside?

Even the sun would leave its shining sphere,To claim a bride whose worth shines bright and clear!”

Rudabeh heard, and anger filled her breast,Like fire stirred by wind that knows no rest.

With grim-set face and anger in her eyes,She bent her brows before her fierce replies.

She turned on them with flashing eyes and cried:“Your words are empty! None can turn my tide!

If one loves stars, what lesser flame will do?How could the moon content a heart so true?

Can mud replace the rose in scent and hue?Who feeds on clay will pass the flower from view.

If bitter draft can heal the body’s pain,Then sweetness only deepens loss and strain.

No Caesar, nor Chin’s Faghfoor, nor a lordCrowned in Iran, can win my heart’s accord.

Zal, son of Sahm, is strength enough for me,In him I find the peace I long to see.

Call him what others will, both old and young!My heart is his, on him my hope is hung.

Speak not of others; he alone I choose,Though never seen, his love I cannot lose.

My heart chose Zal unseen from what I heard;This love was born from every praising word.

I do not love his features or his hair;It is his worth that binds me; worth so rare.”

The maidens heard her clear, determined voice,And answered: “We will honor every choice.”

Their cold reproach dissolved in kinder tone,As love itself now made her cause their own:

“We are your servants, loyal, firm, and true;Command us now, what must we strive to do?”

One said: “Let none beyond this circle know.For you, a hundred thousand lives we bestow.

If craft or cunning must be brought to play,Or subtle arts employed along the way,

We will move swift as birds that cleave the air,Or run like deer to serve you anywhere.

We shall convey this prince, your chosen one,And bring him to your side when day is done!”

They cast their stern objections to the ground,And swore to serve the princess of renown.

Rudabeh smiled with joy and eyes alight,And answered them with measured, calm delight:

“If you can bring this matter to its end,You shall plant a flourishing tree, my faithful friend,

A lofty tree that bears rubies each day,With wisdom gathering fruit along the way.”

The maidens rose and hastened to their task,Though anxious, still they did as she had asked.

They sought a cure for what they could not mend,Yet moved as loyal servants to the end.

In Roman brocade, splendidly arrayed,Their curls upon their rose-bright faces laid.

The five went forth toward the river’s side,Like springtime moving bright in fragrant pride.

The month was Farvardin, the year’s first breath,When earth renews itself from winter’s death,

And Zal’s encampment lined the river’s flank,While they stood watching from the farther bank.

Their talk was all of Zal as on they strayed,His name the only music that they made.

They gathered roses scattered by the stream,Their cheeks like blossoms in a perfumed dream.

They wandered lightly, gathering flowers in play,Until the royal pavilion faced their way.

Then Zal, who watched them from his place on high,Turned to his men and asked them to reply.

“Who are these maidens, bright as flowers in spring,That seem like roses sweetly blossoming?”

One answered: “From the halls of Mehrab’s queenThese waiting-maids have come, in beauty seen.

They walk abroad at Rudabeh’s command,The pride and glory of fair Kabul’s land.”

At once Zal’s heart leapt up, no more at rest,For love already burned within his breast.

With but one servant near, he left his seat,And paced the bank where wind and water meet.

Across the stream the maidens caught his sight;He drew himself to all his lordly height.

He called for bow and arrow to be brought,And searched for prey as though by instinct taught.

He went on foot and marked the swimming birdThat crossed the current, scarcely seen or heard.

His Turk then strung the bow, its curve drawn tight,And placed it in Zal’s left hand for the flight.

The bow was drawn, the arrow notched and true,He loosed the shaft, and to the mark it flew.

The bird fell bleeding; red the river ran;“Cross over; bring it back,” the chief began.

That good man crossed the stream by boat to whereThe maidens gathered close with watchful stare.

“That warrior whom we see across the way;Who is he? Tell us what you know today.

Who is this lion-armed, elephant-built chief?What king commands him? Tell us now in brief.

What foe could stand against that archer’s skill?We have not seen such mastery of will.

No rider have we seen so fit and fair,So masterful with arrows through the air.”

The boy pressed teeth to lip: “Speak not this wayOf such a Shah; take care in what you say.

He rules in Nimruz, sprung from Sahm’s own race,A chief whom kings acknowledge in his place.

They call him Dastan; none can match his name;No age will see one more of equal fame.”

The maidens laughed and answered, “Say no more;A wonder waits within the palace door.

Within Kabul there shines a brighter light,A form that dims the very sun from sight.

Her stature like a saj-tree, slender, white,A musk-crowned moon, a form of pure delight.

Her nose is shaped like silver pen made fine,A perfect stroke along the facial line.

Two dark narcissus eyes beneath brows bent,With sleepy magic through their glances sent.

Her mouth is narrow as a heart in pain,Her curls fall ring on ring like anklet chain.

Her cheeks are tulip-red, her eyes half-sleep,And musk-black hair falls fragrant, dark, and deep.

Her lips so narrow breath can scarcely flow;No moonlike her can all the heavens show.

From Kabul we have come to Zabul’s king,To make her ruby lips to Sahm’s son cling.

For she and Zal are equals, both in worth;Such union fits the order of the earth.”

The youth flushed red and answered with delight:“The sun may wed the moon when stars stand right.

When fate intends a union, hearts are bound;When fate divides, no joining can be found.

Division shows; the joining stays unseen;Such is the world’s enduring, timeless scene.

A warrior who keeps himself from mateMay live concealed and free from household fate.

He may refuse a wife for fear insteadThat from his seed a daughter may be bred.

The male hawk said, when on the egg to brood,His mate spread out her wings in watchful mood:

‘If from this egg a living offspring grows,From father’s seed as much as mother’s flows.’”

The servant came back smiling from the place,His silver teeth shone brightly in his face.

Then Zal looked on, and wondered at his glee:“What did they tell you by the garden tree?”

The youth told all; Zal’s spirit leapt with fire,Renewed by hope and sharpened with desire.

“Return,” he said, “and bid them linger whereThe roses breathe their scent upon the air.

To gather flowers, jewels, they may stay;Let them remain and do not haste away.

Do not return yet to the palace hall;Wait till my secret message gives the call.”

He gathered gold and gems of richest kind,With brocades rare as merchants seldom find.

Five splendid seven-hued brocades he chose,And sent them by a trusted man, kept close.

The messenger approached the maidens sweet,And brought the hidden treasures to their feet.

He gave the gold and jewels in Zal’s name,And warm words from the world-champion came.

One maiden spoke: “A secret shared by twoIs safe; but tell a third and it breaks through.

When four have heard, then five will hear it plain;And what was whispered soon becomes refrain.

So tell your master, if truth he would speak,Let him come forth and find out what he seeks.”

“The male lion is caught within the snare,And all we hoped for has fallen to our share.

The wishes they have both desired and plannedNow ripen, guided onward by our hand.”

The black-eyed treasurer recrossed the stream,The trusted agent in this secret scheme.

He told his master all that he had heard;Zal listened closely to his every word.

Then Zal himself went swiftly to the flowers,To meet the maidens in the garden bowers.

They came before him, bowed upon the ground,Their flower-bright faces gathered all around.

He asked of Rudabeh’s stature and her face,Her form, her bearing, every outward grace.

Her speech, her judgment, wisdom, heart, and mind;What in her nature he would truly find.

“Tell me each thing,” he said, “one after one;Let crooked speech or falsehood enter none.

If all you tell is truthful in my sight,Your honor shall be guarded as is right.

But if I sense deception in your breath,Beneath elephants’ feet you shall meet death.”

Their faces paled; they kissed the earth in fear;The youngest, bold of speech, then answered clear:

“Among the great no man from mother cameTo match great Sahm in stature and in fame;

In purity of heart, in wisdom, sight,In judgment and in knowledge of the right.

And after Sahm no rider can compareWith your great height and lion arms laid bare.

No man can rival your commanding air,Or match the lion strength your shoulders bear.

And Rudabeh, no equal can be found,A silver cypress, scent and color crowned.

From head to foot, all rose and jasmine bright,Canopus crowns the cypress in her height.

It seems perfume itself drips from her face;Her hair is ambergris in scented grace.

From silver dome to earth her kamand falls,A snare of hair hung down the garden walls.

Her hair is musk and ambergris entwined;Her jeweled body leaves all wealth behind.

Her curls, a blackened jowshan, loop and trail,A musk-dark armor falling like a veil.

Ten fingers, silver pens in shape and line,With ghaliya traced in many a dark design.

No idol-maker in all Chin could traceHer equal; Moon and Pleiades praise her grace.”

Zal, stirred by this, replied in softened tone:“Tell me what path might make her heart my own.

I love her wholly, heart and soul combined,And long to see the face that fills my mind.”

They answered: “We will hurry back, and raiseOur voices for you, speaking all your praise.

We shall praise your wisdom, speech, and noble face,Your radiant spirit and your Pahlevan grace.

With skillful speech we shall engage her ear,Yet twist no word nor bring one falsehood near.

Her musk-dark head we shall draw to the bait,And bring her lips to you, Sahm’s son, who wait.

Then come yourself, your kamand in your hand,Beneath her lofty palace wall to stand.

Cast its loop round the battlement, and dare;The lion shall rejoice; the lamb his share.

Then see her face and judge what pleases you;May joy increase from what we say and do.”

The maidens left, and Zal endured the nightAs though a year withheld all morning light.

Meanwhile they reached the palace gate; they boreThe river-roses gathered on the shore.

Each bore two sprays, and as they slipped inside,The porter saw them pass, and loudly cried:

“A fine hour this to wander far outside!I marvel at your roaming, wild and wide.”

The maidens, pressed and startled by his voice,Prepared their answer; silence was no choice.

“This day is like all others, why this care?No lurking evil haunts the garden air.

It is the spring, we gather blooms for play,Hyacinths and roses we picked today.

Why then rebuke us with such bitter blameFor gathering spring blossoms; is that shame?”

He answered: “This is not the time to roam;Take heed, for danger gathers close to home.

Zal, son of Sahm, is camped in Kabul’s land,His tents and warriors spread on every hand.

At dawn your lord rides forth to meet the heir,And friendship now has grown between the pair.

If he should find you wandering this way,You would be seized and punished where you stray.”

They passed within and sought their mistress out,And told their secrets, joy beyond all doubt.

“No sun so bright has ever met our sight;His cheeks are ruddy, ivory tresses white!”

Rudabeh’s heart leapt high with sudden flame,And longing rose when anyone said his name.

They laid his gifts before her, gold and bright,The jewels that shimmered softly in the light.

She questioned them: “Tell all; conceal no part:What did you find in Zal, that lion-heart?

Is he indeed as worthy as men say?Or is his fame but smoke that drifts away?”

Encouraged now, the maidens spoke as one:“No finer horseman lives beneath the sun.

A cypress in his stature, straight and tall,With royal grace that crowns and conquers all.

What form, what color, what commanding air!What slender waist, what shoulders broad and square!

His eyes are like narcissi wet with dew,His lips like coral, cheeks like roses new.

His arms are lion-strong in bone and might,Mobad at heart, with royal farr alight.

His white hair is a fault, but no disgrace;It lends him wonder, adding to his grace.

His silver curls lie like a jowshan, pale,On arghavan-red bloom beneath their veil.

Indeed, he seems as though he should be so;Were he not thus, how could affection grow?

We told him he should see you; hope took fire,And all his heart was kindled with desire.

Now think what means may bring him safely near,And tell us what to say when next we hear.”

She smiled and flushed, then spoke in playful guise:“But yesterday you judged him otherwise!

That he was old, bird-reared, a withered thing!Now suddenly he soars like a lord and king?

You praised my face to him in honeyed voice,Then claimed a price for helping in my choice.”

Yet still she smiled, her cheeks grew warm and bright,Like pomegranates touched by soft moonlight.

Then to one maid she spoke in lowered tone:“At night go forth and seek him on your own.

Give him this message: ‘All your hopes are true;Prepare yourself: your Moon now waits for you.

Now let us shape the means with quiet art,For Heaven gave this love into your heart.’”

Rudabeh made all ready, yet seemed still,While none among her kin suspected ill.

She raised a pavilion fresh as spring in bloom,With noble portraits gracing every room.

Her servants draped it richly, fold on fold,With brocade fine from Chin and threads of gold.

They ranged the golden trays with measured art,And scattered precious jewels through every part.

They mixed the wine with musk and amber rare,And cast bright gems like stardust through the air.

Here narcissus and violets were strewn,With roses blooming soft as breath of June;

There lilies stood with jasmine intertwined,A garden shaped to captivate the mind.

Gold cups with turquoise shone in ordered rows,And clear rosewater breathed the scent of rose.

From the sun-faced maiden’s chamber perfume spun,And climbed the air until it reached the sun.

At dusk they barred the chamber, lost the key,Then sent a maid to say: “She waits, come see.”

The hero, a restless lover newly stirred,Set forth at once, obedient to her word.

Meanwhile Rudabeh, rosy-cheeked and bright,A cypress bathed beneath the moon’s full light,

Ascended to the roof with watchful gaze,She marked the son of Sahm through evening haze.

She loosed her coral lips and called his name:“O noble youth, welcome, to love’s own flame!

May Heaven’s blessing rest upon your head,And happy fortune on your pathways spread.

May lofty heaven bow beneath your feet,And may your coming make this moment sweet.

May she who praised you live in joy and cheer;From head to foot, as told, you now appear.

To come on foot from out your lordly placeMust weary well a prince of such high grace.”

He heard her voice and lifted up his eyes,And saw a radiant form against the skies!

A sun-cheeked maiden, radiant, refined,Whose beauty dazzled eye and stunned the mind;

Her blush turned stone to ruby where she stood,Her glow made night seem day and darkness good.

He cried: “O moon-faced one, O heaven’s art,May grace eternal dwell within your heart.

How many nights beneath Simak on highHave I looked upward, longing with a sigh,

Praying to Him who rules the stars aboveTo grant one glance, one moment of your love.

Now you have made my longing soul rejoiceWith gentle words and music in your voice.

Yet why should distance still our meeting bar?Why stand you there while I remain afar?”

She heard, and smiling, loosed without delayHer night-dark hair and cast its bonds away.

Coil upon coil, snake upon snake, it wound,Her musk-dark tresses streaming toward the ground.

She lowered them from battlement to wall,A fragrant kamand hanging through their fall.

Then from the wall she called to him again:“O lion-born, exalted among men!

Now spread your lion-grip, your Kayan hand!Climb where my tresses fall to your command.

These locks are yours, my pledge, my offered sign,Take hold, ascend, and make your pathway mine.”

Zal gazed in wonder at that shining snare,A face like dawn and night-enchanted hair.

He kissed the musk-dark strands with longing bliss;Rudabeh heard the sound of that warm kiss.

Then love-sick Zal raised up his voice and said,And spoke the plea that through his heart had spread:

“This is not right, that I should rise aboveBy seizing thus the very life I love.”

He took his kamand from his servant’s hand,And cast it upward where the walls did stand.

The loop caught fast upon the rampart stone;From base to roof he climbed the wall alone.

He reached the roof; she came, her face aglow,And greeted him with honor, bowing low.

She took his hand; like those made glad by wine,They walked together toward the chamber’s shine.

Together then they passed, as in a dream,Into the chamber’s soft and jeweled gleam.

A chamber rich with gold and scented bloom,A paradise prepared, a lovers’ room.

Fair maidens stood like houris, soft and still,While Zal beheld her beauty and drank his fill.

Her hair, her face, her beauty and her grace,Her royal farr shone brightly through the place.

Her armlet, torque, and earrings, gem-inlaid,With gold, cast spring’s poor riches into shade.

Her cheeks were twin red tulips newly grown,Her curls in ringlets over her shoulders thrown.

He sat beside that moon in royal grace,Red-ruby crown and khanjar both in place.

She looked and looked again with bashful gaze,Engulfed in love’s consuming, rising blaze,

At form and stature, strength and noble air,At eyes whose glance could conquer hearts laid bare.

The more she gazed, the more her heart took fire;His radiant face increased her fierce desire.

They kissed, embraced, and drank the flowing wine,While love drew heart to heart in close design.

Then spoke the prince: “O silver-bosomed fair,O swaying cypress, musk within your hair,

Though Manuchehr should hear and answer no,He will not bless the path on which we go.

And Sahm will roar and rise against me still,But none of this can bend my heart or will.

I count as little now this life and breath;For you I take my shroud and welcome death.

Before the Just I bind myself and swear:I shall not break the covenant we share.

To God I pray that hearts opposed may bend,And all the wrath between our houses end.

And if He grants what faithful hearts implore,You shall be mine, my bride for evermore.”

Rudabeh answered: “By the Just, the True,No man shall ever claim me, none but you.

Let God bear witness to this vow I make:No other lord shall my allegiance take,

Except Zal-e-Zar, the Pahlevan of fame,With crown and treasure, farr and noble name.”

Their love grew deeper with each passing hour;Reason stood far; desire held all its power.

So passed the night until the dawn grew nearAnd morning’s tabiras rang in their ear.

Zal took his leave, yet held her close and long,As warp to woof are bound in fabric strong.

They wept and cried to heaven in dismay:“O lord of light, why will you not delay?

Grant us one hour before your beams arise,Hold back the dawn a while beneath the skies.”

Then from the height he let his kamand fall,And swiftly climbed down from the palace wall.

When morning’s sunlight crowned the mountain height,The warriors gathered round him, armed and bright.

They took their leave and went upon their way,And Zal remained behind at break of day.

Then Zal dispatched a caller through the land,To summon learned elders to his hand.

The wise Dastur came, with Mobadan acclaim,And lofty warriors, chiefs of honored name.

Men keen of mind, in counsel deep and sound,Well pleased to stand where wisdom might be found.

Zal opened speech, a smile upon his face,His heart rejoicing as he took his place.

He first gave praise to God, whose laws run deep,And woke the Mobad’s heart from inward sleep:

“Let every heart with fear and hope attendThe righteous Judge on whom all lives depend,

Yazdan of sun and moon and circling sky,Who guides the soul and knows where secrets lie.

Praise Him as fully as our tongues know how,And let us humbly ever to Him bow.

By Him this flourishing world is kept in place;In both worlds justice issues from His grace.

He decks the spring with blossoms bright and new,Brings summer’s fruit and autumn’s golden hue.

From Him comes youth with fragrance, strength, and bloom,From Him comes age with sorrow’s shadowed gloom.

No creature dares transgress the law He planned;Without His leave no ant may cross the sand.

He made increase through pairs by wise decree;From one alone no growth can come to be.

There is no partner to His sovereign will,Yet all creation moves in union still.

Without this bond, no life could ripen true,Nor could the world its hidden powers renew.

By humankind the world is richly graced;Through man the worth of every good is traced.

No youthful man stands rightly in God’s wayIf from a fitting mate he turns away.

Still less should one from an illustrious lineRemain without a child to bear its sign.

What sight is finer in the eyes of menThan sons to bless their fading years again?

At life’s last turn, a second dawn they gain,In sons through whom their memory shall remain:

‘This is the son of Zal, of Sahm the great’;Thus line and crown endure beyond their fate.

This tale is now the garden that is mine;Its rose and narcissus before me shine.

My heart has fled from me, my reason too;I stand confessed and seek a path from you.

I kept this grief in silence till today;Now tell me what can cure it, show the way.

The house of Mehrab has ensnared my heart;His land seems heaven; I cannot depart.

His daughter, born of Sindokht, holds my soul;Her image governs me beyond control.

Now tell me plainly: what do you advise?Will Sahm approve, or anger fill his eyes?

If Shah Manuchehr learns what I intend,Will he condemn the path that I defend?

For all men wed according to the law,By faith and custom none should find a flaw.

No wise man bars what honor would allow,Nor calls forbidden what the laws avow.

Speak then, you seers; declare what must be done;Let wisdom guide me where my path should run.”

They heard. And silence held them in its chain,For Zahhak’s blood in Mehrab did remain,

And Manuchehr detested that dark line;No man dared speak where peril gave a sign.

No man had heard sweet nectar mixed with bane,Or sugar joined with poison in one grain.

With no reply, Zal’s blood began to boil;He shaped a fresh design to end the toil:

“I know you frown upon the path I tread,And censure follows; this I know, and dread.

Yet he who chooses must endure the blame;No man escapes the judgment or the name.

But if you show a path both clear and wise,And help me from this tangle to the prize,

Then never subjects serving any kingReceived such gifts as I to you shall bring.

My justice, kindness, bounty all shall flow,And neither fear nor harm shall lay you low.”

The trusty Mobadan gathered to reply,And sought the words that might his heart satisfy:

“We are your servants, yours to guide and lead,We stand in wonder, ready at your need.

What good or harm may follow none can say;No mortal sees what lies beyond today.

Though Mehrab stands beneath your rank and place,He is a mighty warrior, known for grace,

Though sprung from Zahhak’s dragon-rooted line,He rules the Tazis with a kingly sign.

Write now to Sahm; let him weigh your request,And set before him all that suits it best.

Your wisdom far exceeds what we have known;Your judgment reaches farther than our own.

Then Sahm may write the Shah and make it plain,And seek his judgment on what you would gain.

The king will trust in Sahm’s far-seeing view;Through him the path may open clear and true.

Thus may the barrier fall, the danger cease,And what seems peril now be turned to peace.”

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.

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 amongHer 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 heSat crowned upon his throne; a nest held me.

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 ICannot make known to every passing eye.

A son may speak what others must not hear;A father, fierce male dragon, lends his ear.

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, mayApprove 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 thenFrom 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.”

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 turnedTo 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.

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?”

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.

When Sahm awoke, he called his sages round,And asked what fate the stars above had bound.

“How shall this end? These two opposing sidesStand far apart, where deep division lies.

Like fire and water locked in ceaseless strife,Their natures clash and cannot share one life.

Such strife as on the final reckoning’s daySet Zahhak and Fereydoon at deadly bay.

Search now the heavens, read what signs appear,And make the road that I must travel clear.”

They spent the day in study of the skies,Tracing the courses where the omen lies.

At last they came to Sahm with gladdened face,Rejoicing in the fortune they could trace.

One wise astrologer stepped forth and said:“O lord whose golden belt strikes awe and dread,

We bring you news to ease the anxious breast:This union stands not cursed but doubly blessed.

From Zal and Mehrab’s daughter shall ariseA raging elephant before men’s eyes.

He will subdue all kingdoms in his sight,And raise the royal throne to lofty heights.

He will strike down the roots of evil menAnd leave no refuge for their brood again.

His heavy gorz shall cleanse the earth of stain;No Sagzar nor Mazandaran shall remain.

Through him Turan shall suffer endless woe,Through him Iran shall rise in strength and glow.

Through him the weary heart shall find its peace,And wars that rage beneath his hand shall cease.

The people shall take hope when he appears,And joy shall follow after bitter years.

His battle steed shall charge across the field,And grind the war-leopard till it must yield.

Blessed the Shah whose age shall share his fame;Through kingship Time itself shall bear his name.

Rum, Hind, and all Iran shall know his worth;His name on signet-rings shall circle earth.”

Sahm heard the astrologer; his heart grew light,And thanked him, freed from doubt and inward fright.

He gave them silver, gold beyond all count,As fear gave way and hope began to mount.

He called the messenger and, choosing well,Restrained by prudence, gave him words to tell.

“Go speak to Zal with gentle, tempered tone:His wish finds little favor on its own.

Yet I have given word, and must remainBound to that pledge, nor break it for my gain.

Tomorrow I will leave this field and rideTo Iran’s court, where truth shall be my guide.

There I shall learn what judgment Shah may give,And whether God will let this longing live.”

He gave the envoy gifts and told him, “Go:Delay no more, ride hard and do not slow.”

He sent him off and readied for the way;His army cheered to march without delay.

A thousand Gorgasaran they bound that day,And drove them, wretched, on their feet away.

When two parts of the darkened night had passed,The riders’ cries rose where the ranks were massed.

The koust and karnay thundered loud and clear,Their voices rising from the royal gear.

Then Sahm set out toward Iran’s domain,And led his army onward from the plain.

The messenger returned with joyful speed,Bearing the answer that fulfilled the need.

He came to Zal and told what had occurred;The prince found comfort in the words he heard.

He raised his praise to God with grateful voice,And blessed the turn that made his heart rejoice.

He gave the poor both silver and bright gold,And gifts of kindness no account could hold.

A honey-tongued woman served as go-between,And carried lovers’ words both heard and seen.

Zal summoned her and spoke of Sahm’s reply,Then said: “Go now to Rudabeh, and try;

‘Fair lady, when the road seems closed to you,Another path may open into view.

The messenger has come with hopeful news;’Though Sahm delayed, he did not now refuse.”

They spoke at length; each sage was fully heard,And Sahm agreed to honor his pledged word.

He gave his father’s letter to her care;She ran with joy like wind through morning air.

Rudabeh, hearing, scattered gold like rain,And seated her with honor in her train.

She gave the woman robes for news she bore,A fitting gift from Rudabeh’s royal store.

Then brought a headband wrought with subtle art,Its warp and weft concealed in every part.

With gold and rubies woven into light,The gems so rich they hid the metal’s sight.

A rich and noble ring she gave to bear,Like Jupiter it shone in heaven’s air.

She sent the gifts to Zal without delay,With greetings and a message on their way.

But Sindokht saw the woman pass within,And spoke at once, her voice both sharp and thin:

“From where do you come? Speak and hide no part.You cross these halls too often for my heart.

Time after time before my eyes you go,Then enter her chamber, yet no greeting show.

My heart suspects you; speak without delay:Are you the bowstring, or the bow? Now say.”

Her face grew pale with fear at Sindokht’s sound,She bent before her and she kissed the ground.

“I earn my living, moving place to place,I sell fine goods among your noble race.

Rudabeh wished for jewels and robes of state;I brought her wares befitting one so great.”

Sindokht replied: “Then show me what you sold,And ease my doubt; bring forth the gems and gold.”

“They rest with her,” the trembling woman said,“I go to fetch more pieces, as was pled.”

“Then show the payment,” Sindokht sharply cried,“Let me see coin, and prove you have not lied.”

“She pays tomorrow,” came the quick reply,“Please wait; I will bring silver; do not pry.”

Sindokht saw through the falsehood at a glance,Her anger surged; the lie had lost its chance.

She searched her sleeves with force from side to side,To learn what crooked secret she might hide.

And there she found the costly clothes concealed,With Rudabeh’s own handiwork revealed.

Her anger flared; she seized her by the hair,And threw her face-down on the earth laid bare.

In fury she dragged the woman on the ground,With scorn for every secret she had found.

Then to her chamber, burning, she withdrew,Her heart in turmoil, mind in sorrow too.

She shut herself within and sat alone,Distraught, with reason from its moorings thrown.

She sent for Rudabeh; the summons made,She struck her face in anguish, sore dismayed.

Her two narcissi washed each roseate cheek,With tears that shone before she rose to speak:

“O child, bright moon, born for the royal height,Why choose the pit and cast the throne from sight?

What lesson have I failed to teach or show?What courtly rule have I not made you know?

Why have you wronged me thus? Speak now and sayWho sent this woman, what has passed this way.

For whom are these rich gifts, the ring, the dress?What hidden bond drives you to such excess?

The Tazi crown has passed into our hand,And brought us good and ill throughout the land.

Will you cast your name to winds and let it fly,And watch its hard-won honor scatter by?

May I not live to see so black a stain!Better no daughter than such lasting pain.”

Rudabeh dropped her gaze toward the ground,And stood in shame, and could not make a sound.

Love’s water from her lowered eyes was shed,Her two narcissi seemed adorned with red.

At last she spoke, her voice both soft and clear:“O mother wise, whose counsel I revere,

Love crushes down my soul; I cannot rest,Its hold has driven peace out of my breast.

Had you, my mother, never given me birth,No good or evil from me touched the earth.

The chief of Zabul now resides nearby,And love has set my spirit all awry.

The world has narrowed till I cannot hide;I weep in open view and deep inside.

One hair of his is worth the world entire;No treasure equals that which I desire.

He came; we saw each other, nothing more;No flame between us rose or burned us sore.

We pledged ourselves; joined hands confirmed the vow,No fear or passing time could break it now.

A messenger was sent to Sahm away,And bore his answer back to Zal that day.

Then for a time he writhed beneath his grief;Then heard the sages, and their words brought relief.

He gave the messenger rich gifts to bear;She brought his full reply into my care.

Through this same woman, whose hair you tore,Whom you struck down and dragged across the floor,

She brought the letter back again to me;These garments were my answer, as you see.”

Sindokht stood frozen, wonder-struck and gray,Half hope, half dread at war in her dismay.

Yet Zal himself seemed worthy in her eyes;Her fear lay in the anger that would rise.

At last she said: “This is no trivial thing.Zal is the mightiest warrior of the king;

A peerless chief, with every virtue known,Save one dark stain: the blood that is our own.

The Shah will hear, and anger will arise,And Kabul’s dust will darken all the skies.

He will not suffer those of Zahhak’s seedTo mount the saddle or to rule or lead.”

She released the woman, soothed her after all,And comforted the one she caused to fall.

She acted as if she had never knownThe woman standing frightened and alone.

Then Sindokht spoke, her voice no longer hard:“You are discerning; keep yourself on guard.

Be wise, keep silent; let no word be said,Nor let this secret pass beyond your head.

Let not your lips disclose what you have heard;Bury the matter deep, without a word.”

She saw her daughter would not be denied,Nor heed advice, nor set her will aside.

Then Sindokht wept and lay in bitter pain,As though her skin were splitting from the strain.

Mehrab returned, well pleased by Zal’s regard,And found Sindokht prostrate, her countenance marred.

Her color drained, her calm was worn and frayed;He asked, “What grief is this? Why so dismayed?

Why have the roses of your face grown pale?Speak plainly now and let me hear your tale.”

She said, “I have been thinking for a whileOn all we hold; this wealth, this power, this style:

These Tazi steeds, this palace proud and wide,The treasures heaped and guarded at our side,

These gardens where our joys and friends remain,Our fame and wisdom, all our gathered gain.

Our servants, crown, and our high royal seat,The splendor gathered richly at our feet,

All these must fade; none here are meant to stay,In time our pride and splendor pass away.

What we have built must fall to hostile claim,Our labor turns to wind and leaves no name.

At last a narrow coffin is our share;What pride we gathered vanishes to air.

We rear a tree whose theriac turns to bane;What should have healed us brings us mortal pain.

We plant and water it through toil and care,Then crown its boughs with treasure rich and rare.

It spreads its shade and lifts its head to sun,Until the labor of our years is done.

Then down its head is buried in the ground;What rest is left when such an end is found?

With this before me, clear in mind and view,I find no place where rest can still be true.”

Mehrab replied, “This truth is old and known:The passing world was never ours alone.

One rises high while others fall away;One enters life, another ends his day.

No soul escapes the reach of heaven’s will;Grief changes nothing; time advances still.

No power of ours can change what fate has signed;The Just One governs all of humankind.”

She answered, “Wise men look beyond the word;What I have said should not be lightly heard.

Can I conceal from you this inward weight,A truth that bears upon our future state?

A fortunate Mobad once told his childThis parable in words both grave and mild.”

She bowed her cypress form, her eyes with tears;The narcissus washed the rose beneath her fears.

“Know this,” she said, “the turning heavens goNot always where our wishes bid them flow.

The son of Sahm has set his cunning snare,And caught Rudabeh’s bright heart unaware.

Now we must act and find a path to mend;I counseled her but could not make it end.

Her spirit trembles, sorrow fills her face;I see no strength that turns her from this place.”

Then Mehrab started up in wrath, and pressedHis hand upon the sword-hilt near his breast.

His face turned lapis-blue, his body shook;Cold breath escaped his lips; rage filled his look.

“Her blood shall flow for this!” he cried aloud;His voice rang harsh, his anger fierce and proud.

Sindokht sprang up and clasped his waist, afraid:“Wait now and hear me; let your hand be stayed.

Grant me one word before your wrath runs free;Then judge as wisdom shapes your just decree.”

He cast her off and roared in furious heat,Like a drunken elephant none dared meet:

“I should have struck her down when she was born;I spared her then! Now I am left in scorn.

I turned from custom, let her life remain;Now she repays me with this bitter stain.

A son who strays beyond his father’s wayIs base, no matter what the world may say.

The leopard’s cub must show his father’s sign,Though lesser strength within the son may shine.

The father’s mark should live within the son;By lineage is ancestral honor won.

I fear disgrace no less than I fear death;Why bar me from the fight with pleading breath?

If Sahm and Shah should hear of what is done,Kabul’s dark smoke will rise up to the sun.

The land will fail; its harvests cease to grow;Our strength will break beneath a crushing blow.”

She said, “My lord, speak not in reckless flame;Sahm knows of this; there is no cause for shame.

He turned from Gorgasaran for this alone;The matter now is widely heard and known.”

Mehrab replied, “Do not mislead me so,Can wind obey the dust that lies below?

If she were safe from harm, I would not grieve;No finer son-in-law could I conceive.

From Ahvaz on to Kandahar’s wide span,Who would not seek alliance with that man?”

She said, “My prince, I would not speak untrue;Your grief is mine, I share its weight with you.

At first, I feared as you now fear within;That is why sorrow marked my face and skin.

But if this bond is fated to be made,Let us not shrink or let our hearts be swayed.

Fereydoon’s crown was joined to Yemen’s line;Dastan now seeks the same by fate’s design.

When fire and water, wind and earth combine,The darkened world itself begins to shine.”

She brought Sahm’s answer forth for him to hear:“Take heart; his words give us good cause for cheer.

When strangers join with you in ties of worth,Your foes grow pale and lose their strength on earth.”

Though anger still within his bosom lay,Mehrab gave ear but cast no wrath away.

“Bring Rudabeh before me,” he replied;“This matter now must no longer be denied.”

Sindokht, in fear that rage might take its toll,Replied, “First promise me to keep control.

First swear her body whole returns to me;No wound shall touch her, and she shall go free.

And Kabul’s garden, like high Paradise,Shall not be lost at any grievous price.”

He gave his word, but warned, “The Shah may riseWith wrath against us under turning skies.”

She bowed in thanks, her heart both light and strained,Then hastened where her daughter still remained.

With smile that broke like dawn through fading night,She said, “Your fate has turned at last to light.

The war-leopard has spared the Gur-e-Khar’s hide;Put on your gems and go to him,” she cried.

Rudabeh said, “What are mere gems or gold,Beside the love and fate my heart does hold?

My soul is bound to Sahm’s illustrious son;Why hide what fate and truth have plainly done?”

She went before her father, bright and fair,Adorned in gold with jewels in her hair.

Like rising sun she stood before his eyes;He gazed in silence, struck with mute surprise.

She seemed a paradise in human guise,A springtime sun beneath the open skies.

He called upon the World-Creator’s name,Astonished by the radiance that came.

He said, “O foolish child, can you not knowWhat doom the heavens on such folly throw?

How could a pari join Ahriman’s breed?May crown and ring be lost for such a deed.

If Qahtan’s snake-charmer took the Magus way,An arrow would be fit reward that day.”

At this her heart grew heavy, full of dread;The living color from her cheeks had fled.

She lowered black lashes over eyes of light,And held her breath, nor answered in his sight.

He roared in fury like a leopard pressed,His wrath still beating hard within his breast.

She turned back to her chamber, heart in pain;Her altered cheeks still bore their sorrow’s stain.

Then daughter and her father sought God’s light,And placed their troubled hearts within His sight.

News reached the Shah: new ties had now begun,Binding proud Mehrab’s house to Sahm’s own son.

And more, that Zal had bound his heart by vowTo Mehrab’s daughter of the moonlit brow.

Before the throne the matter was laid bare,The Mobadan weighed all with solemn care.

The Shah then said, “Grim days may rise from this;I see no easy road to lasting bliss.

From lion’s claw and leopard’s savage hand,By counsel and by war I freed the land.

Did Fereydoon cleanse earth of Zahhak’s reignThat such a root should rise and spread its bane?

Shall from that seed, long withered and cast down,A branch arise to threaten throne and crown?

This love, if left to grow, may yet restoreThe very blood we strove to end before.

If from this union there should rise an heir,A sharpened sword from sheath would meet the air.

He stands between two worlds and bears two claims:Half bound to us, half to the Dragon’s names.

How shall two natures so opposed endure?Can poison ever mingle with its cure?

If toward his mother’s side he bends his will,Corrupting words may then his judgment fill;

He may fill Iran’s cities full of woe,And crown and treasure to his keeping go.

Now give me counsel; tell me what you know:What course will guard the realm from overthrow?”

The Mobadan bowed, offered him their praise,Extolling wisdom in his words and ways:

“Great Shah, whose insight pierces every veil,Whose judgment stands where weaker counsels fail.

Let wisdom guide you with its sovereign art;For wisdom breaks the fiercest dragon’s heart.”

The Shah, resolved to bring the matter clear,Commanded them to summon Nohzar near.

With lords and chiefs assembled at his side,He spoke to Nohzar, whom he charged to ride:

“Go forth to Sahm, whose fame the world has crowned,And ask how he emerged from battle sound;

Then say: ‘The Shah would see you at his seat;Come first to court, then homeward turn your feet.’”

Nohzar obeyed, and galloped as decreed;When Sahm was told, he mounted on his steed.

With elephants, tabiras, chiefs drew near,And all rode out to greet the prince with cheer.

They met and clasped, exchanged the words of peace;Sahm’s heart rejoiced, his welcome did not cease.

Nohzar delivered what the Shah had said;Sahm answered, “I shall go where I am led.

To see the Shah will fill my heart with light.”That day he kept them as his guests till night.

The banquet spread throughout Sahm’s domain,Where wine was poured and joy dispelled all strain.

They raised the cup and drank the Shah’s great name,Then Nohzar’s, and then Sahm’s, by custom’s claim,

And named each lord of every far-off clime,Each province toasted in its proper time.

The night was spent in music, wine, and cheer;At dawn tabiras once more rang out clear.

Swift hiyuns rose; the march resumed; and straightThey turned their course toward Iran’s royal gate.

When word arrived, the Shah adorned his hall;He summoned chiefs and warriors, one and all.

From Sari and from Amol rose a sound,Like boiling seas that shook the country round.

The javelin-men came mailed, rank upon rank,Their heavy spears held ready on each flank.

From mountain on to mountain stretched the line,An army drawn in ranks of vast design.

Red shields and yellow pressed in ordered rows,While tabira, pipe, bronze-cast cymbal rose.

With Tazi steeds, great elephants, and gold,They marched to greet him, banners all unrolled.

Sahm reached the court, dismounted, bowing low,And kissed the ground before the Shah’s bright glow.

Manuchehr rose from ivory carved and white,His ruby crown above him burning bright.

He seated Sahm beside him, face to face,And showed him every mark of royal grace.

He questioned Sahm with anxious, searching care,And asked what news of war he came to share:

“Tell me of war, of Gorgasaran’s domain,Of hostile armies gathered on the plain,

Of Mazandaran’s Divs, their strength and art,Speak fully now, conceal no single part.”

The chief replied: “Live long, victorious king!May evil never brush you with its wing.

I marched against those fierce and dreadful lands,Where lion-like they fight with savage hands.

More swift than Tazi horses in their flight,More brave than Iran’s champions in the fight.

The troops whom men call Sagzars barred our way,Like fighting leopards eager for the fray.

When news of my approach among them spread,My very name drove reason from each head.

They raised a battle cry within the town,Then left its walls and came to strike us down.

From ridge to ridge their countless troops were massed;The very sun grew dark, its brightness passed.

They came upon us wild, without restraint,And fear ran through my ranks; their hearts grew faint.

I thought: ‘How shall I bear this crushing blow?’And saw no path, no refuge from this foe.

I shouted to my shaken ranks aloud,And called them back before the hostile crowd.

I raised my hundred-man gorz for the fray,And urged my iron charger on its way.

I rode among them, striking head on head,And filled their shaken ranks with sudden dread.

Then came their chieftain, Kakouy, fierce and tall,Like some dark wolf that howls the slaughter’s call;

Through Salm he sprang; through Zahhak came his dam,And proud chiefs’ heads were dust before that man.

His army swarmed like ants and locusts near;No plain, no hill, no rocky height stood clear.

When from that mass the heavy dust spread wide,The color left the champions at my side.

Again I raised that heavy gorz in sight,And held my shaken army for the fight.

I roared aloud, my voice across the plain;The earth beneath them turned like grinding grain.

Then courage found its way to every heart,And all resolved to take the battle’s part.

When Kakouy heard my roar across the field,And knew my gorz, he would not turn or yield.

He came like raging elephant to stand,A long kamand held ready in his hand.

He cast it wide, but I was swift to turn,And slipped aside while still his eyes did burn.

I took the great Kayanian bow to hold,And set steel-headed arrows, keen and cold.

I loosed the eagle-arrow from the string,Then rained down fire with every feathered wing.

His head seemed like an anvil under rain;The arrows stitched his helmet to his brain.

Through dust he charged, an elephant drunk with fight,An Indian sword was flashing in the light.

So fierce he seemed in rushing to the strife,A mountain would have begged him for its life.

I drew him on, withdrew a measured pace,Then seized him firmly, face to furious face.

I gripped his girdle, wrenched him from his place,Like lion seizing quarry in the chase.

Like raging elephant I struck him down,And all his bones were shattered on the ground.

When thus their chief was hurled in shameful fall,His army turned and fled beyond recall.

Through slope and plain, through wilderness and hill,They scattered into bands and fled on still.

Twelve thousand, horse and foot, lay dead in sight;We counted them when ended was the fight.

Three hundred thousand formed their gathered might,Yet what are foes against your fortune’s light?

What stands against the fortune you command,When I but serve the purpose of your hand?”

The Shah rejoiced to hear that victory’s boon,And raised his shining crown toward the moon.

He spread the wine and feast in glad array,And saw the world washed clean of foes that day.

That night was spent in merriment and song,In wine and joy that carried hearts along.

At dawn the court was opened to the light;Sahm stood before the throne in royal sight.

Peerless Sahm blessed the Shah with words of grace,And sought to speak of Mehrab and Zal’s case.

But Manuchehr forestalled the words he planned,And turned the speech at once to his command:

“Go with my chosen chiefs without delay;Throughout Hind then let fire mark your way.

Burn Mehrab’s palace, Kabul with its wall;Let none of dragon-seed escape at all.

From time to time that blood will raise its cry,And war and tumult fill the earth thereby.

Kill all who stand connected to his line,The nobles bound to him by bond and sign.

And all who spring from his accursed seed,Or trace to sorcerer Zahhak their breed.

Sever their heads, and cleanse the earth’s domainOf Zahhak’s kin and all his tainted strain.”

The Shah showed such sharp anger in his face,Sahm dared not add one word within that place.

He kissed the throne, his face against its base,Before the vengeful Shah, in fear’s embrace.

He answered, “I will do as you require,And clear the Shah’s heart of avenging fire.”

Then homeward with his army Sahm was bound,On wind-foot mounts that scarcely touched the ground.

Mehrab and Zal heard all that late had passed;The Shah’s command left all Kabul aghast.

A cry arose throughout Mehrab’s domain;Fear swept through house and court and open plain.

Sindokht, Mehrab, and Rudabeh allDespaired of life before the threatened fall.

Then Zal departed, stern though sorrow-worn,Yet firm in will, though inwardly forlorn:

“Should some grim dragon breathe its wrathful fire,And set the whole world blazing like a pyre,

And should it seek to ravage Kabul’s land,It first must take my head beneath its hand.”

With troubled heart and thoughts that surged and turned,He rode in haste, and in his heart he burned.

News reached brave Sahm: “Your lion-cub draws near.”At once the army rose with mounting cheer.

Fereydoon’s banner rose above the throng,And welcoming tabiras thundered long.

On elephants bright-colored banners flew,In red and yellow, violet in hue.

They rode to greet him. Zal, when he drew near,Dismounted, bowed, and came with reverent fear.

The chiefs of either side dismounted, each:The crowned, and those with crowns still out of reach.

Zal kissed the earth; his father spoke at length,Then Zal remounted in his youthful strength.

He rode a bay Tazi horse, swift and grand,Like some high golden mountain through the land.

They murmured, “Your father’s anger shows;Go offer an excuse; no prideful pose.”

Zal answered, “There is nothing here to dread;At last all mortal flesh to dust is led.

If wisdom enters in my father’s head,No harm will pass beyond the words he said.

And if my father speaks in angry blame,My tears will answer him with filial shame.”

Thus to Sahm’s court they came with spirits clear;The chief dismounted; Zal was summoned near.

He bowed and kissed the ground before his sire,His eyes with tears, his heart alive with fire.

He blessed his father, while from narcissus eyesHis tears washed roses under sorrowed skies:

“May joy attend our Pahlevan each day;May justice ever light his heart and way.

Your sword makes diamond burn beneath its sweep;The earth on battle-days is made to weep.

Where your dark charger moves upon the field,The slowest ranks make haste and never yield.

The heavens, once they feel your gorz-wind rise,Know stars themselves can scarcely keep the skies.

Through justice all the earth beneath you grows;Its greenness from your righteous judgment flows.

All people through your justice live in cheer;Yet I alone receive no justice here.

A bird-reared, dust-eating man am I;No equal have I underneath the sky.

I know no crime that I have done or planned,No man has rightful grievance at my hand,

Except that mighty Sahm himself is sire;If skill is mine, it springs from such a fire.

Right at my birth, you cast me from your side,And left me on the mountains bare and wide.

You cast my grieving mother into pain,And gave her growing child to fire’s reign.

No cradle knew I, nor my mother’s breast;No kinsman stood beside me, gave me rest.

You bore me to the mountain, cast me bare,And tore my heart from comfort, ease, and care.

You made war on the World-Creator’s right:‘Why has He made one black, another white?’

Yet God preserved me, turned to me His face,And gave me strength no hardship could erase.

I gained both skill and manhood, warrior’s blade,And found a friend whose worth will never fade:

Mehrab of Kabul, with his crown and gold,His throne and heavy gorz in warrior’s hold,

With counsel, wisdom, and crowned chiefs beside;Such is the lord with whom I now abide.

By your own word I made his realm my base,And kept your counsel ever in its place.

You said: ‘No grief from me shall come your way;The tree you plant shall bear its fruit one day.’

From Mazandaran comes this gift you send;From Gorgasaran you hastened to this end,

To ruin now the prosperous house I made;Is this the justice I am to be paid?

Behold, alive before you here I stand;My living body waits upon your hand.

Saw me in two across the waist instead;But speak no more of Kabul when I am dead.

Do anything you wish; command is yours;Whatever harms Kabul, my heart endures.”

Sahm heard these words, raised ears, and lowered mane;The truth of Zal’s reproach brought inward pain.

At last he said: “All this you speak is true.From first to last, I have done wrong to you.

My dealings with you all were born of wrong;They made our enemies rejoice too long.

This one desire alone you asked of me;In anguish you rose up to make your plea.

Yet do not act in haste; I shall decree,I will resolve it wisely, you shall see.

I shall myself write to the Shah and plead,And place in your own hands the scroll you need.

The king will seek no harm when you appear,And see your gifts and noble bearing clear.

We shall recall whatever must be said,And turn his heart toward justice in its stead.

If he consents, your wish is safely won;The work that you desire will all be done.

The lion does its labor with its arm;Wherever it hunts, the quarry comes to harm.”

Then Zal bent low and kissed the earth, and blessedHis father for the pledge his words expressed.

A scribe before them took his ordered place,While they discussed the matter face to face.

He opened first with praise of God, the Guide:“He was, He is, and ever shall abide.

From Him come good and evil, what may be;We all are servants; God alone is He.

Whatever He ordains for all to see,Directs the turning heavens by decree.

He rules Saturn, sun, and moon on high;May blessings crown Manuchehr beneath the sky.

In battle, poison no theriac can stay;In feast, the moon that turns the dark to day.

He wields the gorz and opens conquered lands,And shares out joy and fortune from his hands.

He bears Fereydoon’s banner through the strife,And takes the proud war-leopard’s very life.

The wind of his gorz turns a mountain’s crestTo dust beneath the hoof his charger pressed.

His heart brings wolf and sheep to drink as one,By justice bound beneath a single sun.

I am his servant, bowed with age and toil;Some sixty years I trod this earthly soil.

My hair is white as camphor, pale with age,The sun and moon have crowned my later stage.

I bound my waist and served in warrior’s place,And fought the sorcerers face to face.

No rider matched my pace on any field,No warrior struck as hard and did not yield.

My heavy gorz struck fear in every foe;No arm in Mazandaran matched its blow.

Had I left no mark upon the world of men,Proud chiefs would still have held their heads up then.

A dragon once came from the Kashaf River,And made the world before its terror shiver.

Its breadth from town to town engulfed the land;Its height from peak to peak rose vast and grand.

Men kept their watch both day and through the night;No creature dared remain within its sight.

The sky stood empty; every bird had fled;No beast remained where once the wild things bred.

Its burning breath consumed the vulture’s flight;Its venom set the very earth alight.

It dragged the raging water-beast from deep,And snatched the eagle where the high winds sweep.

The land lay empty, stripped of life and sound;No man nor beast would linger near that ground.

Then none dared face it; I alone stood fast,And chose to meet the monster’s fiery blast.

Through Yazdan, Maker, Lord of all the land,I cast all fear aside and made my stand.

I bound my waist and mounted for the fight,Upon my elephant-bodied charger’s might.

An ox-head gorz hung ready at my side,My bow upon my arm, my shield was tied.

I rode against the monster without dread,My claw was sharp, its deadly breath ahead.

All those who heard that I would face its mightBade me farewell before I joined the fight.

From head to tail it rose, a mountain grand;Its streaming hair trailed like a long kamand.

Its tongue stood forth just like a blackened tree;Its open jaws were terrible to see.

Its eyes were pools of blood, immense and red;It saw me, roared, and charged with wrath ahead.

I thought, O Shah, that fire was at my side;So fierce its burning presence spread out wide.

The world before my eyes became a sea;Black smoke rose up and veiled the world from me.

Its roar made all earth’s face reel to and fro;Its venom turned the ground to Chin’s dark flow.

I roared in answer like a lion bold,And did not wait though terror took its hold.

I set a khadang, diamond at its head,And drew the bow until the shaft was sped.

I drove the shaft to sew one side in place;Its tongue protruded, fixed across its face.

A second arrow struck its mouth and tore;It twisted, writhing from the wound it bore.

A third shaft struck the center of its maw;A stream of liver-blood ran red and raw.

It pressed me hard and narrowed all the ground;I drew my ox-head gorz of vengeance round.

Through Yazdan’s strength I drove my charger on,And swung my gorz until the beast was gone.

I struck its head; the heavens seemed to rainA mountain down upon the monster’s brain.

Its skull broke like a worn-out elephant’s head;Its poison poured like Nile waters running red.

One blow I struck; it fell and could not rise;Its brains lay scattered under mountain skies.

The Kashaf River filled with blood and gall;The earth found rest and sleep once more for all.

The land was freed; the people gathered near,And blessed my name now rid of mortal fear.

Men watched that battle throughout all the land,And saw the monstrous dragon fall by my hand.

They called me Sahm of One Blow for that fight;The world cast gems before me in delight.

I left the fight, my shining body bare;My famed jowshan lay broken past repair.

My charger’s armor also fell away;That poison left me stricken many a day.

For years that country yielded nothing green,But burned and bitter thorns, a barren scene.

To tell that my wars with Divs would extendThis letter far beyond a fitting end.

In every other venture that I led,I brought the proud chiefs’ heads beneath my tread.

Wherever pranced my charger in the fray,The raging lion cleared my horse’s way.

For years the saddle’s back has been my throne,My horse the very earth that I have known.

My gorz subdued the lands beneath your reign;Mazandaran, Gorgasaran domain.

I sought no gain but served your crown and name,To bring you honor, triumph, strength, and fame.

But now my strength of old has slipped away;My back is bent, my beard and temples gray.

The lofty mane I raised in former years,The gorz-stroke once so feared, no more appears.

Once I could cast a kamand far and wide;Now age has stooped my frame and dimmed my pride.

So now the warrior’s turn to Zal has passed;To him I give my belt and gorz held fast.

Like me, he shall diminish every foe;His deeds will make your royal gladness grow.

He comes to ask the wish his heart has kept,A secret hope within his breast has slept.

His wish is good in Yazdan’s judgment still,For every good lies under Yazdan’s will.

We acted not without our sovereign’s leave;No servant may his lord’s command deceive.

You know the vow I made before your sight,When first I brought him down from Alborz’s height.

That I would not deny what he would seek;Now he has come to me his wish to speak.

He came before me, blood upon his face,His bones seemed split and shattered out of place.

He says it would be better far to fallThan strike at Kabul and bring death to all.

Yet one reared far apart, on wild crags grown,Might lose his wits when such a face is shown,

A moon in Kabul, radiant and fair,A slender cypress crowned with flowers rare.

If such a bird-reared man should lose his mind,The Shah should take no vengeance of this kind.

His suffering has reached so hard a state,Whoever sees him pities now his fate.

Though innocent, he bore such grief and woe;Therefore my pledge remains, as you well know.

I send him now, his heart oppressed by care,To seek your royal judgment, just and fair.

When he stands present at your royal seat,Do what a sovereign judges right and meet.

I need not teach the wisdom of your reign;To counsel such a Shah brings him no gain.

He is my only son beneath the sun,My comfort and my aid till life is done.

From Sahm Nariman to the world’s great king,A thousand blessings on his chiefs I bring.”

When all was written, every word made right,Zal took the letter and prepared for flight.

He mounted as the karnay’s summons rang;Toward the Shah his warrior escort sprang.

Then Zal departed Kabul on his way;Sahm One Blow in the garden chose to stay.

When rumor spread through Kabul’s guarded gate,Mehrab burned hot with fury at their fate.

He summoned Sindokht; all the wrath that stirredAgainst her child he poured on her in word:

“The only course, since I must bow to might,Is to cleanse this stain in the Shah’s sight.

I seize you and your child in your disgrace,And strike you down to wipe out this foul trace.

So may the Shah be softened, earth find peace,And from this terror Kabul gain release.

Who here would dare stand firm before brave Sahm,Or meet his heavy gorz and still be calm?”

Sindokht sank down, yet reason held her mind;She weighed the storm, a path through it to find.

Deep-sighted, skilled in counsel under strain,She sought a road through danger, death, and pain.

She rose, hands gathered close, and crossed the room,Before the sun-bright king amid his gloom:

“Hear but one word, then do as you may choose;Grant me that much; there is no time to lose.

If wealth exists to ransom life, then spend;No treasure matters if our lives must end.

Know well that this dark night is pregnant now;Give time for what it carries to avow.

However long the night, its dark must cease;The day will break like spring and bring release.

The world may shine, its darkness overrun,Like Badakhshan’s bright jewel beneath the sun.”

Then Mehrab cried: “Tell no old tales todayAmong the warriors; speak what you can say.

Find means to save your life while life remains,Or wear the blood-red shroud that death ordains!”

She answered, “Let no blood be spilled; forbear;Give me the road; a path I will prepare.

I go to Sahm; my tongue shall leave its sheath,A sword of speech to meet the danger beneath.

For wisdom cooks raw speech till it is fit;Through counsel, words gain force and measured wit.

My task is life. Your part is wealth to give;Provide the means, and we may yet all live.”

He gave the treasury key into her hand:“Do not grieve over wealth at my command.

Take servants, horses, treasure, crown, and throne;Prepare whatever riches we have known.

Perhaps then Kabul will escape the blaze;Its withered gardens bloom in better days.”

Sindokht replied: “If life be what you seek,Then treasure counts for nothing, hear me speak:

While I avert the storm now rising near,Swear that no harm shall touch our daughter dear.

For her I strive; I do not fear my end;Her life alone is what I would defend.”

She first exacted from him covenant strong,That Rudabeh should suffer neither hurt nor wrong.

Then robed herself in brocade, pearls, and gold,With precious rubies brilliant to behold.

From Mehrab’s hoard she drew a lavish store,Three hundred thousand golden coins she bore.

Sixty Tazi and Persian steeds were led,With silver harness gleaming at each head.

Sixty fair servants, golden torques they wore,Came ranked and ordered from the palace door.

Each bore a golden cup before the sun,With musk and camphor heaped in every one,

With rubies, gold, and turquoise richly set,And other gems no eye could soon forget.

A hundred red-haired female camels came,Bent under burdens worthy of their fame.

A hundred more strong camels bore the load,With costly fabrics for the onward road.

A crown befitting kings, with jewels ablaze,With armlets, torques, and earrings fit for praise;

A golden throne like heaven’s vaulted height,Inlaid with gems that scattered living light,

Its breadth was twenty royal cubits wide;Its height rose like a mounted chief in pride.

Four elephants at last of Indian breed,Bore silks and carpets for the royal need.

The treasures sent, she donned a warrior’s guise,And passed the guarded gates before their eyes.

A Roman helmet gleamed upon her head,In warrior’s guise along the road she sped.

Her charger flew as swiftly as the gale,And left the guarded road behind her trail.

Like Azargashasp in her bearing bright,She rode toward Sahm resolved to face his might.

She gave no name, nor let her rank be known,But reached brave Sahm’s encampment all alone.

She bade the knowing warders bear her word,And only as Mehrab’s envoy be heard:

“An envoy comes from Kabul to this place,To speak with Sahm, the chief of warlike race,

A message sent from Mehrab’s royal handTo him who holds dominion over the land.”

The chamberlain conveyed the message clear;Sahm granted audience, curious to hear.

She dismounted, bowed low upon the ground,And praised both Shah and Sahm with measured sound.

Before him stretched her tribute far and wide:Rich gifts and slaves and beasts in ordered stride.

From Sahm’s own gate the train stretched far away,For two full measures in its bright array.

Attendants, horses, elephants in lineMade all the road with ordered tribute shine.

Sahm drew his arms in, lowered down his head,Like one half-drunk before the wealth outspread.

“What land can hold such wealth, such boundless store,What custom sends one woman to my door?

If I accept, the Shah may take offense;If I refuse, Zal’s grief will grow intense.

He may take wing like Simorgh through the sky,Then ask what answer I can give; and why.”

At last he spoke: “These gifts shall not be mine;To Zal’s own treasury send them all in line.

Record them there in Rudabeh’s fair name,The Moon of Kabul, bright with royal fame.”

Sindokht rejoiced; she saw good fortune rise,And knew that evil faded from her eyes.

Three maidens came, each idol-faced and fair,With jasmine bodies, cypress-tall and rare.

Each in her hand a jeweled goblet bore,And stepped with measured grace across the floor.

Red rubies and bright pearls each vessel filled;Before the chief their jeweled wealth was spilled.

They poured them out before the hero’s gaze,A shining tribute offered to his praise.

When all withdrew and strangers left the place,She turned to Sahm and spoke with steady grace:

“Your wisdom grants the old their youth again,And teaches wisdom to the greatest men.

Through you the road of darkness turns to light;The wise grow wiser standing in your sight.

Your seal has bound the hand that evil led;Your gorz has opened God’s true road ahead.

If fault there was, it lay with Mehrab’s hand;His eyes hold heart-blood shed for Kabul’s land.

Why should the innocent heads of Kabul fall?What guilt have they committed, one and all?

They live to serve you, dust beneath your feet,And deem your favor all their joy complete.

Fear Him who fashioned mind and strength on high,Bright Venus and the sun within the sky.

Such slaughter cannot please the Maker’s will;He did not shape the world for needless ill.

Gird not your strength for slaughter and for flame;Let mercy, not bloodshed, attend your name.”

Then Sahm replied: “Speak plainly and be clear:Are you his lesser, or his honored peer?

You speak of her whom Zal has sought to wed;Describe her fully, all that can be said:

Her mind, her form, her stature and her face,Her hair, her nature, and her inward grace.”

She answered: “First, before I speak at all,Swear me an oath that stands beyond recall.

Swear that no harm shall touch me or my own,And all the truth to you shall then be known.

I hold a palace, treasure, household, kin;First grant me safety, then I shall begin.

To Zabul I will send our hidden store,The wealth long guarded behind Kabul’s door.

And what else you may fittingly require,I shall provide according to desire.”

Sahm took her hand and swore as she required;He pledged her safety, just as she desired.

She bowed, then rose once he had pledged his word,And told the hidden truth that none had heard:

“My lineage springs from Zahhak’s ancient line;My lord is Mehrab, warrior fierce and fine.

I am his consort, mother of that maidFor whom Zal’s heart in longing has been laid.

From deepest night until the dawn grew clear,We called upon the Maker without fear.

All night we blessed the Shah, and Zal, and you,And prayed that fortune favor all we do.

I come to learn what purpose fills your mind,And what intent toward Kabul I shall find.

Who there is counted enemy or friend?On knowing this our hopes and fears depend.

If we are guilty, evil in our seed,Then crown and rule should pass from such a breed.

Here helpless I stand wholly in your hand;Do what your judgment and your power command.

Strike whom you must, and bind whom you must bind;Let guilt alone the weight of vengeance find.

But spare the innocent in Kabul’s keep;Do not make guiltless hearts in sorrow weep.”

Sahm listened well and saw before his sightA woman wise, with soul both strong and bright.

Her face was spring, her form a cypress slim;Her waist was narrow, every feature trim.

Her gait was like a pheasant, proud and fair;Deep judgment marked her speech and every air.

He said: “My word shall stand, though life be lost;My oath is firm, whatever be the cost.

Return in peace and dwell without alarm;No shadow shall approach or bring you harm.

Throughout the world Zal could not find a brideLike Rudabeh to stand as equal at his side.

Though sprung from other roots, your house I ownAs worthy too of diadem and throne.

No shame is found in what the heavens send;Against the Maker’s will no man can contend.

One rises high, another falls below;Such is the world, as all its changes show.

One grows in wealth, another fades in need;Prosperity and want in turn succeed.

Yet both at last return to earth and clay;For all must meet the same appointed day.

I will support your cause and be your guide;Your grief and pleading I cannot set aside.

To Manuchehr I wrote, my purpose shown,And Zal has gone to make the matter known.

He flew as if no saddle held him fast,His horse outstripped the winds that hurried past.

The bird-raised youth stood weeping in a flood;His tears had pooled around his feet like mud.

The Shah will answer kindly to his plea;For love has bent his spirit, you shall see.

If she returns his love with equal flame,Both lovers might burst from their skins the same.

Now let me see this maid who caused such strife,And won my dear son’s heart, and changed his life.

Now show me that young dragon’s child to see,And take the fitting price you earn from me.

Her face may please me when she comes to view,And what she says may prove her judgment true.”

She answered: “If you ride within our hall,Your servant’s head will rise above them all.

Come with your steed into our palace bright;Your coming will lift Kabul’s heart to light.

If Sahm should enter Kabul as its guide,Our people gladly would lay life aside.

Our lives are yours; before you we shall stand,If only you will honor Kabul’s land.”

He saw her lips now smiling, fear withdrawn,The root of enmity from her heart gone.

He laughed and said: “Let fear no longer stay;This matter soon shall move the wished-for way.”

She took her leave, her mission fully done,Her face grew ruby-bright beneath the sun.

A courier swift she sent ahead in flight:“Rejoice,” she said, “cast every fear from sight.

Prepare yourself to greet a noble guest;I follow soon; let all be at its best.”

Next day the sun sprang like a fountain clear,And heads rose wakeful as the dawn drew near.

At Sahm’s great gate a stir of welcome ran:“The moon of women comes,” cried every man.

Sindokht returned and bowed before the chief,Then spoke at length, her heart released from grief.

She asked permission to return, and bringHer joy to Kabul, to its waiting king.

“I must prepare to greet the coming guest,And send the bridegroom home with bond expressed.”

He said, “Go forth, tell him all you have heard;Let every plan proceed by rightful word.”

He gave rich robes and gifts for Mehrab’s share,And gifts for Sindokht, splendid, rich, and rare.

For Rudabeh he sent choice gifts, well weighed,Rich, fair, and fitting for the moon-faced maid.

He granted all he owned in Kabul’s land,Its halls and gardens into Sindokht’s hand.

Its tilled estates, its herds, its household store,Its robes and furnishings, and even more.

He gave them all to seal the peace they made,A lordly gift in full before her laid.

He clasped her hand and swore again his vow:“Be safe, and dread no enemy from now.

I take your daughter now for Zal to wed;Let joy between the two of them be spread.”

Two hundred warriors joined her homeward train,A guard of honor riding rein to rein.

With fortune favoring every step she made,She turned toward home beneath that guarded aid.

Her moonlike face, once withered under care,Now bloomed again, restored and shining fair.

Now hear how Zal came forth before the king,As Fortune blessed his coming on the wing.

Word came: “The son of Sahm has neared the hall.”The nobles rose to greet him, one and all.

As Zal approached, they opened wide the way,And led him straight before the Shah that day.

He entered and approached the royal seat,Then kissed the earth in homage at his feet.

For some time still his face remained below,In humble reverence before Manuchehr’s glow.

The kindly Shah, moved deeply by the sight,Bade dust be wiped from Zal’s face clean and bright.

Then musk was scattered richly on his face;The Shah received him with abundant grace.

When Zal arose and stood before his gaze,The Shah addressed him then with gracious praise:

“How did you fare upon that difficult way,Through wind and dust that beat you all the day?”

Zal answered: “Through your farr all things grow bright;With you all hardship turns to pure delight.”

The Shah received the letter Sahm had sent,And smiled; his heart grew glad with its intent.

He read old Sahm’s appeal from end to end,And heard the grief beneath each word he penned.

He said: “You add still further to my pain;This matter weighs upon my heart, a chain.

Yet for your father and the words he sends,I grant the wish on which your heart depends.

Whatever you desire I shall allow;Stay here in happiness beside me now.

Remain awhile while I consider wellWhat course may serve you best; then I shall tell.”

The cooks set out a golden table’s fare;The Shah sat down with Zal beside his chair.

He called the kingdom’s famous chiefs to dine,And all sat down in ordered rank and line.

When food was done, another seat was made;There wine was poured and royal joy displayed.

Then Zal mounted a horse with harness gold,And rode away as evening shadows rolled.

Through all the night his heart was full of thought,His lips with words that restless worry brought.

At dawn he came once more with girded frameBefore the Shah of ever-glorious name,

The Shah received him with a gracious cheer,And blessed the Pahlevan as he drew near.

Then, when Zal turned away from royal view,The Shah in private praised the worth he knew.

Then did the Shah command the wise be brought,The Mobadan and those of subtle thought,

The chiefs, Mobadan, readers of the sky,To search the stars and learn what they imply.

Before the lofty throne they gathered near,To make the heavens’ hidden judgment clear.

They labored three long days beneath the skies,Till truth stood clear before the judging eyes.

They took the Indian zij and traced each sign,And made their reckoning by its design.

Then spoke the seers: “The stars have made it clear:A stream of shining water shall appear.

From Mehrab’s daughter, joined to Sahm’s own line,A high-souled hero, famed, shall rise and shine.

With towering strength, of everlasting name,And matchless prowess, wisdom, lasting fame.

His years shall stretch beyond the common span,With strength and farr befitting such a man.

In feast and battle none shall be his peer;Wherever sweats his steed, his foes know fear.

His rival’s liver shall grow dry with dread;No eagle dares to pass above his head.

The chiefs of all the world he shall outdo;Tall, mighty, fearless, steadfast, brave, and true.

Each raging lion he shall catch alive;His circling kamand leaves no chance to strive.

He roasts the Gur-e-Khar upon the fire;His sword makes heaven weep beneath his ire.

He shall be girded in the service of kings;Iran’s riders seek the shelter that he brings.”

The Shah then said: “Keep secret what you say;Let none beyond this council bear it away.”

The Shah then summoned Zal to test his mind,With riddles deep and subtly designed.

The Mobadan and sages, gathered near,Cloaked all their meanings, subtle and unclear.

One hailed him sharp of mind and clear of sight,Whose wisdom pierced what others hid from light.

One spoke to him and offered this first test:“What are the twelve tall cypresses all dressed

In perfect form, upright in shining grace,Each crowned with thirty branches in its place?

No more, no less, by Persian count they stand;Declare their nature, if you understand.”

Another said: “Now tell us, if you know,What are two steeds forever on the go?

One gleams like crystal, radiant, clear, and bright;The other like a sea of pitch at night.

They race in haste, each striving on its course,Yet neither overtakes the other horse.”

A third then asked: “What thirty riders goBefore their king in one long, steady flow?

One seems to vanish when the count is made,Yet count once more, and thirty stand displayed.”

A fourth inquired: “What is that meadow wide,Where streams run full and grasses thick abide,

To which a reaper comes, his sickle keen,And cuts alike the withered and the green?

He hears no cry, nor answers any plea;What is that field, and who can this man be?”

Another spoke: “What are those cypress trees,A lofty pair beside the tossing seas?

A bird upon the pair has made its rest,At dusk on one, at dawn upon the next.

When it flies off, the leaves grow dry and bare;Where it alights, musk scents the waiting air.

Together never are the two seen green;One fresh with life, the other dry and lean.”

The sixth then said: “Upon a mountain heightI saw a fortress, strong before my sight.

Its people left that mountain stronghold’s site,And chose a thorny plain for their delight.

There in the thorn-land they began to dwell,And raised tall roofs where moonlit shadows fell.

The former city vanished from their mind;Its name and memory both were left behind.

But suddenly the earth one day shall shake,And all their settled country ruin take.

Then memory of the former town shall rise,And long regret shall fill the people’s eyes.

Now look behind the veil these riddles cast;Search out the hidden meanings held there fast.

Declare the secret now before the learned,And let the black earth into musk be turned.”

Zal paused a while, absorbed in inward thought,And weighed each hidden question they had brought.

He raised his mane and spread his shoulders wide,Then every hidden answer he supplied:

“The cypresses, those twelve tall trees you named,Are months by which the passing year is framed.

Each bears full thirty branches in its span,The days that mark the measure dealt to man.

When thirty days are passed, their course is done;Thus turns the wheel beneath the circling sun.

You spoke of chargers, one in white, one black,That chase each other, never tired nor slack.

These are the two that sweep across the sky:The night and day that ever onward fly.

They strain in chase, yet neither gains the lead,While heaven counts each human breath with heed.

They never meet, though endless is their flight;Like quarry before hound they race from sight.

Again, the thirty riders that appearAre nights that mark the turning lunar sphere.

At times one night is missing from the line;The count falls back from thirty to twenty-nine.

Now for the twin tall cypresses you named,Above a restless sea with winds inflamed:

These are the two great arms of heaven’s sphere,Whose changing courses govern darkness here.

From Aries onward till Libra draws near,The dark stays hidden and the light runs clear.

Beyond that turn, as heaven wheels its frame,The darkness lengthens and the light grows tame.

The bird that moves between them on its runIs none but our bright ever-burning sun;

From it come hope and fear to all below,As heaven turns and makes our fortunes flow.

The mountain-city high beyond our sightIs lasting home where deeds are brought to light.

The thorn-land town wherein men choose to stayIs this brief lodging where we pass our day.

Here we take pleasure, suffer loss and gain,Are raised in joy, or cast in grief and pain.

Time counts each breath that passes through our frame,Now raising us, now casting down the same.

At last come wind and earthquake through the earth,And sweep away the signs of mortal birth.

We leave our labor in this thorny place,And journey toward the former city’s grace.

Another reaps the fruit that we have sown,Yet he in turn shall lose what seemed his own.

Thus has it been, and thus the world shall run;What one man leaves another takes when done.

If to that other home we bear good name,Our souls shall there receive their honored claim.

But if we live for greed and evil gain,Its truth appears when lifeless we remain.

Though palace roofs to Saturn’s height may rise,One shroud alone will cover mortal eyes.

Then dust shall settle over face and head,While fear and grief keep company with the dead.

As for the meadow and the reaper grim,Whose scythe spares none who stand or bow to him,

That reaper, Time, cuts all within his sight;We are the grass beneath his sweeping might.

Grandchild and grandfather are both the same;He spares no branch for lineage or name.

All ages fall alike beneath his blade;No child is born but death’s path must be made.

Through one gate we arrive, through one depart,While Time keeps count of every breath from start.”

When Zal had thus resolved each hidden word,The court was struck with wonder as they heard.

The nobles marveled, joyed in his reply;The Shah cried out in pleasure, standing high:

“Well done!” he cried, and ordered straightawayA hall made bright as moon on its fourteenth day.

There wine was poured, and through the livelong nightThey drank till sense gave way to glad delight.

At last the cry to mount rang from the hall;One after one they answered to the call.

They left the court still joyful, flushed with wine,Each hand in hand with comrades from the line.

When dawn cast light upon the mountain’s height,And chiefs arose restored from wine and night,

Zal came before the Shah, his waist girt tight,And stood there like a male lion in his might:

“My lord, I long to see my father’s face;Yet having touched the threshold of your grace,

I kissed the base of your great ivory seat;Your crown and royal farr made joy complete.”

The Shah replied: “Young warrior, tarry still;One day remain and gratify my will.

Perhaps your thoughts are fixed on one so fair,Not on your father; is she not your care?”

He bade the cymbal, Indian bell resound,And karnay call the warriors to the ground.

They rode with lance and gorz and bow and shield,And turned the plain into a bristling field.

They loosed their shafts at marks set in a line,And proved their skill in feats of war’s design.

With gorz and sword, with arrow and with spear,Each wheeled his horse and showed his prowess clear.

The Shah from high observed what each could show,Their open skills and hidden arts below.

The Shah saw Dastan’s mastery of the steed;No tale had told of such surpassing deed.

An ancient tree stood rooted in the plain;Long years and months had passed through sun and rain.

Zal bent his bow and spurred his mount to race,Then raised his battle cry and gathered pace.

He shot the ancient trunk with royal force;The arrow pierced it cleanly in its course.

Then men advanced with shields and javelins bright,To show their craft before the King’s own sight.

Zal called his Turk page: “Bring the shield I need,”Then raised his mane and spurred his eager steed.

He cast his bow aside and raised his spear,A heavy javelin, balanced, bright, and clear.

His javelin pierced three shields in one fierce cast,And through the third it drove and hurtled past.

The Shah then turned and questioned all the band:“What warrior now will test this hero’s hand?”

A famous rider answered from the throng,In arrow, spear, and shield both fierce and strong.

The warriors readied weapons, angered all,And answered challenge boldly to the call.

They spurred ahead with spears prepared for fight,Their water-tempered points flashed cold and bright.

Zal drove his steed and raised a cloud of dust;Then man met man beneath the lances’ thrust.

He marked a noble rider famed for skill,A hardened warrior, fierce of hand and will.

He charged; the warrior wheeled and fled away;Zal pressed behind him, hunting down his prey.

From out the dust Zal sprang with leopard speed,And closed upon the rider’s fleeing steed.

He seized the rider’s girdle in his hand,And tore him from his seat before the band.

He raised him lightly from the saddle-seat;The Shah and army marveled at the feat.

The chiefs cried out in wonder at the sight:“No man has ever shown such strength and might!”

“Such deeds as these no living man has shown;No equal to this youth has yet been known!”

The Shah said, “Brave young man, remain this way,Bright-souled and fortunate through every day.

The mother of whoever seeks your fightWill dye her mourning robe in lapis night.

No lioness has borne a man like you;Among all the nahangs your place is due.

And blessed is Sahm, whose name shall long endure,Who leaves behind a rider brave and sure.”

The Shah blessed Zal; the Pahlevans, amazed,Looked on his strength with wonder, and they praised.

The nobles, girded, wearing caps of state,Returned together through the palace gate.

A robe of honor, crown, and golden chairThe Shah bestowed, all jeweled, rich, and rare,

With armlet, torque, and golden girdle bright,Rich cups, steeds, servants; all a splendid sight.

The Shah bestowed the treasures in his hall;Zal kissed the earth in gratitude for all.

The Shah wrote Sahm an answer of good cheer,With wondrous, auspicious words both bright and clear:

“O valiant chief, whose victories endure,In every undertaking strong and sure,

In battle, feast, and counsel none compare;The turning heavens have seen no form so fair.

Your blessed son, brave Zal, shall win great fame;The world shall long preserve the rider’s name.

He came, and through him all your wish I knew,Your counsel and the purpose you pursue.

Whatever you desired has now been done;And Zal desired the same, your noble son.

I granted every wish that Zal made known,And gave him every favor as his own.

Through him auspicious days come into view;May fortune keep his path forever true.

What can be born from lion whose own preyIs leopard, but a fierce lion in the fray?

I sent him forth rejoicing on his way;May every evil thought stay far away.”

Then Zal went forth with head uplifted high,Above the warriors as he journeyed by.

Then Zal, in joy, sent forth a rider swift,To tell his father of the Shah’s great gift:

“I left the Shah with royal honors shown;He gave a robe, a crown, an ivory throne,

A noble horse, a torque, and treasures rare,Bestowed with honor and with generous care.

With gifts in hand, I hasten now to you,My honored father, renowned and ever true.”

Sahm heard the news, and joy so filled his soulHis aged head seemed young again and whole.

He sent a rider swift to Kabul’s gateTo bear the news that lightened all their fate:

“The sovereign of the world has shown such graceThat joy has banished sorrow from its place.

As soon as Dastan reaches me again,Together we shall ride with worthy men.”

The rider hastened on to Kabul’s hall;Mehrab received the news and heard it all.

Mehrab rejoiced that kinship had begunWith Zabulistan’s radiant, noble sun.

As if the soulless had received a soul,As if gray age grew young and once more whole.

He summoned musicians there from every side,Who played as if their souls were scattered wide.

Then Mehrab called Sindokht before his sight:“O fortunate in counsel, wise and bright,

Through your advice this darkened place saw light;You reached a branch that kings acclaim as right.

Since you began this matter, deftly planned,Now bring it to fulfillment by your hand.

My treasury lies open at your call;Take crown or throne or wealth; take freely all.”

Sindokht withdrew and sought her daughter’s side,And told the news with joy she could not hide:

“The one you chose is worthy, and his fameLets high-souled men lift heads that know no shame.

You hastened toward the wish within your heart;Now all you sought is yours in every part.”

Rudabeh bowed, then spoke before them all:“O queenly woman, praised in every hall,

The dust beneath your feet shall be my bed;By your command my every path is led.

May Ahriman’s evil eye stay far away;May feast and joy within your spirit stay.”

Then Sindokht turned to set the palace fair,And decked it out beyond what words declare:

She made the halls a Paradise so rare,With wine, musk, ambergris throughout the air.

Gold-woven carpets stretched from wall to wall,With emerald threads that shone throughout the hall.

Bright pearls were worked like drops of water clear,Their liquid brilliance gleaming, sphere on sphere.

A golden throne she set with royal care,In craftsmen’s style of Chin, both rich and fair.

Its figures glittered, filled with precious stone,With jeweled carvings through the patterns shown.

Its ruby feet burned crimson in the light;Kayanian splendor crowned the throne in sight.

She dressed Rudabeh, Paradise her face,And worked a hundred spells of beauty’s grace,

And seated her within a gold-wrought room,Where every ornament enhanced her bloom.

No stranger crossed the chamber’s guarded gate;None entered while Rudabeh sat to wait.

All Kabulistan shone in rich array,With scent and color, treasure on display.

The elephants wore Roman brocade bright;Crowned minstrels rode upon them in delight.

They dressed the roads for Zal’s approaching ride,And summoned servants in from every side.

With musk and ambergris the servants came;They scattered treasure as they praised his name.

They spread rich furs and silks upon the ground,While emeralds and gold were cast around.

They wet the dust with rosewater and wine;The roadway flowed with fragrance rich and fine.

Zal rode in haste, a bird across the sky,A ship upon the water speeding by.

All those who knew that Zal was drawing nearRode out to greet him with auspicious cheer.

A cry rose from the curtained royal hall:“Zal, blessed in counsel, has arrived!” the call.

Sahm came to meet him, joyful at the sight,And held him in his arms with full delight.

When freed from his embrace, Zal kissed the ground,And told what he had seen and heard all round.

Then Sahm sat on his rich and honored seat,With Zal beside him, happiness complete.

He spoke of Sindokht, smiling as he toldThe words that she had brought from Kabul’s hold:

“A message came from Kabul to my hall;A woman, Sindokht, bore and told it all.

She asked a pledge; I gave my word to herThat no ill thought toward her would ever stir.

Whatever good she asked, I pledged it true;We set each term in friendship, firm and due.

First, Kabul’s moon shall wed with Zabul’s sun;Their two great houses shall be joined as one.

And next, that we should journey as her guestsAnd heal all wounds that trouble hearts and breasts.

Again her messenger has reached our door:All stands prepared, with color, scent, and store.

What answer shall we send upon the way?What shall we tell Mehrab without delay?”

At this Zal’s body took a ruby hue;From head to foot his joyful color grew.

He answered, “Pahlevan, if this seems right,Then let us shape the journey in your sight.

Before the army let us ride apart,And speak of this together, heart to heart.”

Sahm looked at Zal and laughed to see his face;He knew at once what longing held its place.

Whatever speech was not of Mehrab’s maidWas night to Zal, where sleep itself would fade.

He bade the bell and Indian daray sound,And had the pavilion curtains opened round.

A valiant courier mounted with all speed,Upon a swift hiyun, bred for such need.

“Great Sahm is coming, Zal beside his way,With elephants and troops in full array.”

The courier reached Mehrab and gave his word,Recounting everything he saw and heard.

Mehrab rejoiced; arghavan-red bloomCame to his face and banished every gloom.

The bronze pipe sounded, and the kousts replied;His army gleamed like rooster’s eye, fire-dyed.

With mighty elephants and minstrels near,The earth became a Paradise of cheer.

Silken standards of many colors flew;Red, green, and yellow, violet in hue.

The pipe and harp rang out across the throng,With roaring horn and bells that joined the song.

You might have thought the final day was here:Was this resurrection, or a feast of cheer?

So Mehrab rode until he reached the train,Then left his horse and stepped upon the plain.

Then Sahm embraced him, glad to meet that day,And asked how turning Time had shaped his way.

Mehrab gave praise to father and to son,And blessed them both when greeting rites were done.

He mounted on his swift horse, rising soon,Like from a mountain crest the newborn moon.

A golden crown with jewels blazing brightHe placed on Zal before the people’s sight.

They reached Kabul, both laughing, spirits high,Recalling ancient tales as they passed by.

The Indian bell, the barbat, harp, and fluteMade every street resound in loud salute.

It seemed each door and rooftop joined the song,And Time itself was newly decked along.

The horses’ forelocks, manes from end to end,With musk and saffron richly seemed to blend.

Then Sindokht came in ceremonial array,Three hundred girded attendants led the way.

Each bore a golden cup, and every oneHeld musk and jewels flashing like the sun.

They blessed great Sahm as all the cups were raised,Then scattered gems before the chief they praised.

Each guest who came to share the festal cheerReceived such wealth that want could not draw near.

Sahm smiled and asked, half jesting, half in grace:“How long will you conceal this moon-bright face?”

Sindokht replied: “If you would see the sun,What price will you bestow when sight is won?”

Sahm answered: “Ask whatever pleases you;Of all I own, your chosen gift is due.

Whatever I possess; my crown and throne,My royal girdle; you may call your own.”

They passed into a chamber worked in gold,Where spring itself seemed living to behold.

There Sahm looked on the moon-faced maiden’s grace,And wonder held him as he viewed her face.

He knew not how to praise that radiant sight,Nor how to open eyes against such light.

By Sahm’s command, Mehrab appeared that night;They bound the marriage by the faith and rite.

They seated both together on one throne,With agate bright and emeralds all their own.

A famed diadem adorned the moon-bright bride;A jeweled royal crown shone at Zal’s side.

Mehrab then brought the written wealth account,A copy of the treasure’s full amount.

He read each treasure written in the scroll;The ear could scarcely bear to hear the whole.

Sahm saw such wealth and wonder filled his gaze;He spoke the name of Yazdan then in praise.

They went to feast and took the cup in hand;For one full week the wine flowed through the band.

The city rang with cries of joyful sound;Sahm’s palace boiled like Paradise around.

For one full week no sleep their eyelids knew;By day and night their waking pleasures grew.

For three more weeks they lived in festal cheer,With feast and pleasure ringing in each ear.

The nobles of the realm stood rank on rank,Before the lofty palace, flank by flank.

At month’s end Sahm set out from Kabul’s gate,And turned toward Sistan at a rapid rate.

After Sahm had gone, Zal feasted seven days,Then turned his thoughts toward Sistan’s distant ways.

They readied ammari and hodaj for the road,A bridal mahd to bear the moon in royal mode.

With Sindokht, Mehrab, and their kindred near,They took the Sistan road in festive cheer.

They journeyed happy-hearted on their way,Their lips full of blessings for each generous day.

Victorious, they reached Nimruz’s gate,All smiling, for the journey’s joy was great.

Sahm held a feast that lasted three full days,With wine and music and resounding praise.

Then Sindokht stayed behind at Sahm’s abode;Mehrab and all his army homeward rode.

Then Sahm entrusted Zal with kingdom’s care,And marched beneath good omens through the air.

Toward Gorgasaran and Bakhtar he sped,His blessed standard lifted overhead.

He said, “That kingdom is my charge to hold,Yet hearts and eyes there turn from me grown cold.

Manuchehr gave the charter of that land,And told me, ‘Hold and rule it in your hand.’

I fear revolt from those of evil birth;Mazandaran’s Divs most dangerous on earth.

To you, my Zal, I give this royal seat,This kingship and its fortunate crown complete.”

Then Sahm One Blow rode outward from the hall;Zal sat to rule, with wine and feast for all.

When Rudabeh sat shining at his side,He placed a gold crown on his loving bride.