As the world-champion Rostam returned from Mazandaran, King Kay Kavus lost no time in marshaling the full martial might of Iran. The royal pavilion was pitched beyond the city gates, transforming the open plain into a boundless sea of war. An army of colossal proportions assembled; so immense was their march that the dark dust kicked up by their boots and hooves obscured the sun from the sky. Mountain, plain, and shore dissolved into a cloud of rising earth, and the ground groaned beneath the crushing weight of warhorses. Driven by fierce resolve, Kavus pressed his host forward with relentless speed, refusing even a moment's respite on the march to war.
#1
چو رستم ز مازندران گشت باز
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شه اندر زمان رزم را کرد ساز
“When Rostam returned from Mazandaran, the King straightway made ready for war.”
#2
سراپرده از شهر بیرون کشید
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سپه را همه سوی هامون کشید
“He pitched his royal tent outside the city and led the entire army out into the plains.”
#3
سپاهی که خورشید شد ناپدید
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چو گرد سیاه از میان بردمید
“Such was the host that the sun vanished from sight when a black cloud of dust rose from their midmost ranks.”
#4
نه دریا پدید و نه هامون و کوه
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زمین آمد از پای اسپان ستوه
“Neither sea, plain, nor mountain remained visible, while the very earth grew weary beneath the hooves of steeds.”
#5
همی راند لشکر بران سان دمان
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نجست ایچ هنگام رفتن زمان
“Thus impetuously he drove the host onward, granting no respite nor wasting any time on the march.”