The response from the King of Mazandaran came wrapped in haughty disdain and fiery arrogance. He declared to the Iranian envoy, Farhad, that he would never bow to Kay Kavus, boasting a court grander than Iran's and an army beyond count—including twelve hundred war elephants. He threatened to march a pride of lion-like warriors into the heart of Iran, turning its exalted peaks into dark dust and awakening the Iranians from their peaceful slumbers with the clash of blades.
Farhad, having witnessed the enemy monarch's fierce pride and unyielding defiance, turned his reins back toward the Iranian camp. He laid bare the entire mystery, informing Kay Kavus that the lord of Mazandaran deemed himself higher than the heavens and held the world in utter contempt.
Indignant at such humiliation, Kay Kavus summoned Rostam, the elephant-bodied champion. Rostam stepped forward before the king and offered to personally carry a thunderous ultimatum to the enemy—words sharp as unsheathed steel that would turn streams red with blood. Kay Kavus praised Rostam as both his greatest warrior and his most formidable messenger. He commanded the royal scribe to dip his pen like an arrowhead and write a stinging decree: if the King of Mazandaran did not immediately purge his heart of insolence and submit like a slave, Kavus would unleash an ocean of troops against him, leaving even the White Demon's foul soul to watch vultures feast upon the villain's brain.
#1
چنین داد پاسخ به کاووس کی
✦
که گر آب دریا بود نیز می
“Thus he answered Kay Kavus: 'Even if the sea water turned to wine,'”
#2
مرا بارگه زان تو برترست
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هزاران هزارم فزون لشکرست
“'My court is grander than yours, and my army exceeds yours by thousands upon thousands.'”
#3
به هر سو که بنهند بر جنگ روی
✦
نماند به سنگ اندرون رنگ و بوی
“'To whichever side they turn for battle, neither color nor scent shall remain even within the stone.'”
#4
بیارم کنون لشکری شیرفش
✦
برآرم شما را سر از خواب خوش
“'I shall now bring a fierce, lion-like army, to rouse your heads from pleasant sleep.'”
#5
ز پیلان جنگی هزار و دویست
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که در بارگاه تو یک پیل نیست
“'Twelve hundred war elephants I possess, while in your entire court there is not a single elephant.'”
#6
از ایران برآرم یکی تیره خاک
✦
بلندی ندانند باز از مغاک
“'I shall raise a dark dust from Iran, such that high ground cannot be distinguished from the pit.'”
#7
چو بشنید فرهاد ازو داوری
✦
بلندی و تندی و کندآوری
“When Farhad heard his arbitration, his pride, arrogance, and fierce defiance,”
#8
بکوشید تا پاسخ نامه یافت
✦
عنان سوی سالار ایران شتافت
“He strived until he received the answer to the letter, then hastened his reins toward the ruler of Iran.”
#9
بیامد بگفت آنچ دید و شنید
✦
همه پردهٔ رازها بردرید
“He arrived and reported all he had seen and heard, tearing away all curtains of secrecy.”
#10
چنین گفت کاو ز آسمان برترست
✦
نه رای بلندش به زیر اندرست
“He said: 'He deems himself higher than the heavens, nor is his exalted judgment bound below.'”
#11
ز گفتار من سر بپیچید نیز
✦
جهان پیش چشمش نیرزد به چیز
“'He turned his head away from my words, and the world is worth nothing in his eyes.'”
#12
جهاندار مر پهلوان را بخواند
✦
همه گفت فرهاد با او براند
“The ruler of the world summoned the mighty champion, and Farhad recounted everything to him.”
#13
چنین گفت کاووس با پیلتن
✦
کزین ننگ بگذارم این انجمن
“Kavus said to the elephant-bodied warrior: 'I must rid this assembly of such disgrace!'”
#14
چو بشنید رستم چنین گفت باز
✦
به پیش شهنشاه کهتر نواز
“When Rostam heard this, he spoke before the king who cherishes his humblest servants:”
#15
مرا برد باید بر او پیام
✦
سخن برگشایم چو تیغ از نیام
“'I must carry the message to him; I shall unsheathe my speech like a sword from its scabbard!'”
#16
یکی نامه باید چو برنده تیغ
✦
پیامی به کردار غرنده میغ
“'A letter must be penned like a sharp blade, a message akin to a roaring thundercloud.'”
#17
شوم چون فرستاده‌ای نزد اوی
✦
به گفتار خون اندر آرم به جوی
“'I shall go as an envoy to him, and through my speech bring forth rivers of blood.'”
#18
به پاسخ چنین گفت کاووس شاه
✦
که از تو فروزد نگین و کلاه
“King Kavus replied: 'From you, signet ring and crown shine brighter!'”
#19
پیمبر تویی هم تو پیل دلیر
✦
به هر کینه گه بر سرافراز شیر
“'You are the envoy, and you are the courageous elephant—a proud lion on every battlefield.'”
#20
بفرمود تا رفت پیشش دبیر
✦
سر خامه را کرد پیکان تیر
“He commanded the royal scribe to come before him, turning the tip of the reed pen into an arrowhead.”
#21
چنین گفت کاین گفتن نابکار
✦
نه خوب آید از مردم هوشیار
“He wrote: 'Such foolish, wicked speech does not become a wise person.'”
#22
اگر سرکنی زین فزونی تهی
✦
به فرمان گرایی بسان رهی
“'If you purge your head of hubris and obey our command like a servant...'”
#23
وگرنه به جنگ تو لشگر کشم
✦
ز دریا به دریا سپه برکشم
“'Otherwise, I shall march an army against you, stretching my forces from sea to sea.'”
#24
روان بداندیش دیو سپید
✦
دهد کرگسان را به مغزت نوید
“'And the wicked soul of the White Demon shall promise your brains to the vultures!'”