As the radiant sun dipped behind the western horizon, Giv’s heart grew heavy with foreboding, for his brother Bahram had not returned from the blood-soaked field. Turning to young Bizhan, Giv declared that they must not hesitate; they had to ride into the gathering dark to learn Bahram's fate before it was too late to weep. Together, the two champions rode like a tempest toward the battlefield—a grim expanse drowned in crimson, littered with severed limbs and fallen warriors. There, amidst the carnage, they found Bahram cast down upon the earth, his body shattered, his blood pouring into the dirt. Tears of rage and sorrow spilled from the eyes of Giv and Bizhan as they bent over the fallen lion.
When Bahram momentarily stirred to consciousness and opened his blood-clouded eyes, he besought Giv: 'When you shroud my face within the coffin, see that you exact my vengeance upon the treacherous Tazhav!' He revealed how Piran and the champions of Chin had first encircled him, but it was Tazhav who dealt the grievous mortal wound without regard for their past lineage. Hearing this, Giv's soul caught fire with grief. He swore a sacred oath by the Almighty, by the white day and the lapis lazuli night, that his head should not part from his Roman helmet until Bahram's blood was repaid. Mounting his warhorse with an Indian steel sword in hand, Giv rode into the abyss of the night.
As Tazhav rode forth from the Touranian vanguard, isolated from his host, Giv lay in wait. With sudden and terrifying swiftness, Giv hurled his twisting lasso, catching Tazhav around the waist and plucking him clean out of his saddle. He dragged the villain, binding his hands tightly. When Tazhav begged for mercy, asking what crime had brought this hellish night upon him, Giv struck him with two hundred lashes, roaring: 'Fool! In the garden of vengeance, you planted a tree whose trunk drinks blood and whose fruit is severed heads!'
Dragging the bound Tazhav back to the dying Bahram, Giv declared that justice was at hand. Tazhav whimpered, offering to spend the rest of his life as a slave tending Bahram's tomb. Bahram, faint and merciful in his dying moments, suggested that his killer need not taste death on this very day. But young Bizhan could not restrain his fury; seeing his noble uncle bloodied and broken, Bizhan seized Tazhav by the beard and severed his head like that of a helpless bird.
With his vengeance fulfilled, Bahram drew his final breath and passed into eternity. Giv wept bitterly over his brother's body. The host constructed a majestic royal tomb (dakhmeh). Bahram's body was embalmed with precious musk and ambergris, clad in rich Chinese silk, and laid upon an ivory throne with a golden crown suspended above his head. The entire Iranian army donned the garments of mourning, lamenting the tragic loss of their brave and honorable knight.
#1
چو خورشید تابنده بنمود پشت
✦
دل گیو گشت از برادر درشت
“When the radiant sun sank behind the horizon, Giv’s heart grew heavy and anxious for his brother.”
#2
ببیژن چنین گفت کای رهنمای
✦
برادر نیامد همی باز جای
“He spoke to Bizhan, saying, 'O guide of heroes, our brother has not yet returned to his place.'”
#3
بباید شدن تا وراکار چیست
✦
نباید که بر رفته باید گریست
“'We must go and learn what has befallen him; let it not be that we must weep over one departed.'”
#4
دلیران برفتند هر دو چو گرد
✦
بدان جای پرخاش و ننگ و نبرد
“Both brave warriors rode forth like dust storms toward that field of strife, outrage, and battle.”
#5
بدیدار بهرامشان بد نیاز
✦
همی خسته و کشته جستند باز
“Yearning to behold Bahram, they searched among the wounded and the slain across the field.”
#6
همه دشت پرخسته و کشته بود
✦
جهانی بخون اندر آغشته بود
“The entire plain was strewn with the wounded and the dead; a whole realm seemed soaked in crimson blood.”
#7
دلیران چو بهرام را یافتند
✦
پر از آب و خون دیده بشتافتند
“When the brave heroes located Bahram, their eyes filled with tears and blood as they rushed to his side.”
#8
بخاک و بخون اندر افگنده خوار
✦
فتاده ازو دست و برگشته کار
“Cast down ignobly in dust and blood, his strength was spent, his fortune tragically reversed.”
#9
همی ریخت آب از بر چهراوی
✦
پر از خون دو تن دیده از مهر اوی
“Tears streamed over his face, while their eyes overflowed with blood out of deep love for him.”
#10
چو بازآمدش هوش بگشاد چشم
✦
تنش پر ز خون بود و دل پر ز خشم
“As consciousness returned, he opened his eyes; his body was bathed in blood, his heart filled with rage.”
#11
چنین گفت با گیو کای نامجوی
✦
مرا چون بپوشی بتابوت روی
“He said to Giv, 'O renowned warrior, when you cover my face within the coffin,'”
#12
تو کین برادر بخواه از تژاو
✦
ندارد مگر گاو با شیر تاو
“'Avenge your brother's blood upon Tazhav, for a bull cannot withstand the fury of a lion!'”
#13
مرا دید پیران ویسه نخست
✦
که با من بدش روزگاری نشست
“'Piran-e Vayseh saw me first—he with whom I once shared fellowship and table.'”
#14
همه نامداران و گردان چین
✦
بجستند با من به آغاز کین
“'All the chieftains and warriors of Chin joined in seeking my destruction at the onset of battle.'”
#15
تن من تژاو جفاپیشه خست
✦
نکرد ایچ یاد از نژاد و نشست
“'Then the cruel Tazhav wounded my body, showing no regard for my noble lineage or past acquaintance.'”
#16
چو بهرام گرد این سخن یاد کرد
✦
ببارید گیو از مژه آب زرد
“As Bahram the valiant spoke these words, Giv wept bitter tears of grief from his eyes.”
#17
بدادار دارنده سوگند خورد
✦
بروز سپید و شب لاژورد
“He swore a solemn oath by the Creator of the Universe, by the bright day and the lapis lazuli night,”
#18
که جز ترگ رومی نبیند سرم
✦
مگر کین بهرام بازآورم
“'My head shall know no rest nor unfasten its Roman helmet until I exact vengeance for Bahram!'”
#19
پر از درد و پر کین بزین برنشست
✦
یکی تیغ هندی گرفته بدست
“Grief-stricken and burning with vengeance, he mounted his steed, gripping an Indian steel blade in hand.”
#20
بدانگه که شد روی گیتی سیاه
✦
تژاو از طلایه برآمد براه
“When the face of the world turned black with night, Tazhav rode forth from the vanguard post.”
#21
چو از دور گیو دلیرش بدید
✦
عنان را بپیچید و دم درکشید
“When valiant Giv spotted him from afar, he reined in his horse and held his breath in silence.”
#22
چو دانست کز لشکر اندر گذشت
✦
ز گردان و گردنکشان دور گشت
“Knowing Tazhav had ridden past his main host and drifted far from his champions,”
#23
سوی او بیفکند پیچان کمند
✦
میان تژاو اندر آمد به بند
“He cast his twisting lasso toward him, catching Tazhav firmly around the waist.”
#24
بران اندر آورد و برگشت زود
✦
پس آسانش از پشت زین در ربود
“He jerked the rope, turned his steed quickly, and effortlessly plucked him from his saddle.”
#25
بخاک اندر افگند خوار و نژند
✦
فرود آمد و دست کردش به بند
“He hurled him down into the dirt, humiliated and broken, then dismounted and bound his hands.”
#26
نشست از بر اسپ و او را کشان
✦
پس اندر همی برد چون بیهشان
“Remounting his horse, Giv dragged him behind like a senseless captive.”
#27
چنین گفت با او بخواهش تژاو
✦
که با من نماند ای دلیر ایچ تاو
“Tazhav begged him pitifully, 'O champion, no strength or power remains within me!”
#28
چه کردم کزین بی‌شمار انجمن
✦
شب تیره دوزخ نمودی بمن
“What have I done among this endless host that you have shown me the dark night of hell?'”
#29
بزد بر سرش تازیانه دویست
✦
بدو گفت کین جای گفتار نیست
“Giv struck him two hundred lashes across the head and barked, 'This is no place for idle words!”
#30
ندانی همی ای بد شور بخت
✦
که در باغ کین تازه کشتی درخت
“Do you not know, wretched villain, that in the garden of vengeance you have planted a fresh tree?”
#31
که بالاش با چرخ همبر بود
✦
تنش خون خورد بار او سر بود
“A tree whose height rivals the heavens, watered with blood, bearing severed heads as its fruit!”
#32
شکار تو بهرام باید بجنگ
✦
ببینی کنون زخم کام نهنگ
“Was Bahram to be your prey in battle? Now you shall experience the mortal bite of the dragon's jaw!'”
#33
چنین گفت با گیو جنگی تژاو
✦
که تو چون عقابی و من چون چکاو
“Warrior Tazhav pleaded with Giv, 'You are like a soaring eagle, and I but a helpless skylark!”
#34
ز بهرام بر بد نبردم گمان
✦
نه او را بدست من آمد زمان
“I harbored no ill design against Bahram, nor did his appointed hour come by my hand!”
#35
که من چون رسیدم سواران چین
✦
ورا کشته بودند بر دشت کین
“When I arrived, the horsemen of Chin had already stricken him down upon the field of bloodshed.'”
#36
بران بد که بهرام بیجان شدست
✦
ز دردش دل گیو پیچان شدست
“Bahram was now at the threshold of death, his soul slipping away, while Giv’s heart writhed in agony.”
#37
کشانش بیارد گیو دلیر
✦
بپیش جگر خسته بهرام شیر
“Brave Giv dragged Tazhav bound before the wounded, lion-hearted Bahram.”
#38
بدو گفت کاینک سر بی‌وفا
✦
مکافات سازم جفا را جفا
“He said to Bahram, 'Behold the head of this faithless wretch! I shall repay cruelty with cruelty!'”
#39
سپاس از جهان‌آفرین کردگار
✦
که چندان زمان دیدم از روزگار
“'Praise be to the Creator of the World, that fate granted me time enough...'”
#40
که تیره‌روان بداندیش تو
✦
بپردازم اکنون من از پیش تو
“'...To eliminate your dark-souled enemy before your very eyes!'”
#41
همی کرد خواهش بریشان تژاو
✦
همی خواست از کشتن خویش تاو
“Tazhav begged both warriors incessantly, seeking a reprieve from his impending doom.”
#42
همی گفت ار ایدونک این کار بود
✦
سر من بخنجر بریدن چه سود
“Saying, 'If this tragedy has come to pass, what gain is there in severing my head with a dagger?”
#43
یکی بنده باشم روان ترا
✦
پرستش کنم گوربان ترا
“I will become a bound servant to your spirit, guarding and serving your sacred tomb forever!'”
#44
چنین گفت با گیو بهرام شیر
✦
که ای نامور نامدار دلیر
“Lion-hearted Bahram addressed Giv, saying, 'O illustrious and valiant hero,'”
#45
گر ایدونک از وی بمن بد رسید
✦
همان روز مرگش نباید چشید
“'Even if harm befell me through him, he ought not to taste the bitterness of death on this very day...'”
#46
سر پر گناهش روان داد من
✦
بمان تا کند در جهان یاد من
“My soul gave up his sin-laden head; let it remain so that my name is remembered in this world.”
#47
برادر چو بهرام را خسته دید
✦
تژاو جفا پیشه را بسته دید
“When the brother saw Bahram mortally wounded and saw the cruel Tazhav bound in chains,”
#48
خروشید و بگرفت ریش تژاو
✦
بریدش سر از تن بسان چکاو
“He bellowed, seized Tazhav by the beard, and severed his head from his neck like a skylark's.”
#49
دل گیو زان پس بریشان بسوخت
✦
روانش ز غم آتشی برفروخت
“Thereafter, Giv's heart burned for them, and a fire of anguish blazed within his soul.”
#50
خروشی برآورد کاندر جهان
✦
که دید این شگفت آشکار و نهان
“He let out a cry, saying, 'Who in this world, in secret or in open light, has ever seen such a marvel?'”
#51
که گر من کشم ور کشی پیش من
✦
برادر بود گر کسی خویش من
“'Whether I slay or whether one is slain before me, be he my brother or my kin...'”
#52
بگفت این و بهرام یل جان بداد
✦
جهان را چنین است ساز ونهاد
“He spoke these words, and the valiant Bahram gave up his soul; such is the way and design of the world.”
#53
عنان بزرگی هرآنکو بجست
✦
نخستین بباید بخون دست شست
“Whoever seeks the reins of greatness must first wash his hands in blood.”
#54
اگر خود کشد گر کشندش بدرد
✦
بگرد جهان تا توانی مگرد
“Whether one slays or is slain in pain, wander not around the world's ambitions if you can help it.”
#55
خروشان بر اسپ تژاوش ببست
✦
به بیژن سپرد آنگهی برنشست
“Wailing, he bound Bahram's body upon Tazhav's steed, handed the reins to Bizhan, and then mounted his own horse.”
#56
بیاوردش از جایگاه تژاو
✦
بنزدیک ایران دلش پر ز تاو
“He brought him away from Tazhav's battleground toward the Iranian army, his heart consumed with grief.”
#57
چو شد دور زان جایگاه نبرد
✦
بکردار ایوان یکی دخمه کرد
“When he had moved far from that place of conflict, he built a mausoleum magnificent as a royal palace.”
#58
بیاگند مغزش بمشک و عبیر
✦
تنش را بپوشید چینی حریر
“He filled his brain with musk and ambergris, and wrapped his body in fine Chinese silk.”
#59
برآیین شاهانش بر تخت عاج
✦
بخوابید و آویخت بر سرش تاج
“In the royal tradition, he laid him upon an ivory throne and suspended a crown above his head.”
#60
سر دخمه کردند سرخ و کبود
✦
تو گفتی که بهرام هرگز نبود
“They sealed the entry of the tomb in red and lapis lazuli; you would say Bahram had never even existed.”
#61
شد آن لشکر نامور سوگوار
✦
ز بهرام وز گردش روزگار
“That renowned army fell into deep mourning for Bahram and for the relentless turning of fate.”