Amidst the tense stillness of the front lines, the fierce Turanian champion Homan approached his elder brother, Piran, the supreme commander of Afrasiab's forces. For seven long days, the warriors had remained arrayed in heavy armor, their belts worn thin by iron, their hearts burning with hatred, and their eyes fixed upon the Iranian encampment. Impatient with inaction, Homan challenged his brother: 'O mighty champion of King Afrasiab, why do you brood with a downcast face? If your heart is set on war, unleash the strike! If you intend to retreat, linger here no longer! It is a disgrace for our host to falter; young and old alike will mock our hesitation. Is this not the very host that fled before us, leaving the field soaked in their blood? Rostam is not among them, nor do they outnumber our brave riders. If you have no thirst to shed blood, give me command of a chosen band, and watch how I wreak vengeance upon Iran!'
Piran, wise and seasoned in the ways of war, listened calmly to his brother's fiery outburst and urged restraint. He reminded Homan that Goudarz, the commander chosen by King Kay Khosrow, was a hero of immense stature, unrivaled in council, lineage, and warrior pride. Moreover, Goudarz's heart was consumed by an unquenchable fire for his many sons slaughtered by Turanian blades; so long as breath remained in him, he would writhe like a venomous serpent seeking revenge. Furthermore, Goudarz had shrewdly stationed his army between two fortified mountains, blocking all avenues of assault. Piran explained that they must bide their time until the Iranians ventured down from the heights or grew weary, at which point the Turanians could surround them like a wall and overwhelm them with a rain of arrows.
Piran also cautioned that if Homan rode out for a duel, Goudarz would only dispatch a lesser, restless champion against him. Defeating a warrior of low renown would bring Homan no glory, whereas a single misstep resulting in Homan's fall would shatter the morale of the entire Turanian army. Yet Homan, driven by pride and a relentless longing for glory, dismissed Piran's wisdom as mere weakness. Vowing to take matters into his own hands, Homan declared that at the first light of dawn, he would saddle his swift grey steed and ride alone into the field to challenge the Iranian host.
#1
وز آن لشکر ترک هومان دلیر
✦
به پیش برادر بیامد چو شیر
“And from that Turanian army, brave Homan came forth like a lion before his brother.”
#2
که ای پهلوان رد افراسیاب
✦
گرفت اندر این دشت ما را شتاب
“Saying: 'O noble champion of Afrasiab, haste has taken hold of us in this plain!'”
#3
به هفتم فراز آمد این روزگار
✦
میان بسته در جنگ چندین سوار
“'For seven days this time has passed, while so many horsemen stand girded for war.'”
#4
از آهن میان سوده و دل ز کین
✦
نهاده دو دیده به ایران زمین
“'Their waists worn with iron armor and their hearts full of malice, fixing both eyes upon the land of Iran.'”
#5
چه داری به روی اندر آورده روی
✦
چه اندیشه داری به دل در بگوی
“'Why have you cast down your face in thought? Speak what counsel you hold in your heart!'”
#6
گرت رای جنگست جنگ آزمای
✦
ورت رای برگشتن ایدر مپای
“'If your purpose is war, test yourself in battle; if your purpose is return, stay here no longer!'”
#7
که ننگست از این بر تو ای پهلوان
✦
بدین کار خندند پیر و جوان
“'For this delay is a disgrace upon you, O champion; young and old will laugh at such conduct.'”
#8
همان لشکرست این که از ما بجنگ
✦
برفتند و رفته ز روی آب و رنگ
“'Is this not the same host that fled from us in battle, their dignity and color stripped away?'”
#9
کز ایشان همه رزمگه کشته بود
✦
زمین سر به سر رود خون گشته بود
“'Whose battlefield was covered in dead, and the land became entirely a river of blood?'”
#10
نه زین نامداران سواری کم است
✦
نه آن دوده را پهلوان رستم است
“'Not a single famous rider is missing from our ranks, nor is the champion Rostam among that clan.'”
#11
گرت آرزو نیست خون ریختن
✦
نخواهی همی لشکر انگیختن
“'If you have no desire to shed blood and do not wish to rouse the army,'”
#12
ز جنگ‌آوران لشکری برگزین
✦
به من ده تو بنگر کنون رزم و کین
“'Select a host of warriors and give them to me, then watch my fight and vengeance!'”
#13
چو بشنید پیران ز هومان سخن
✦
بدو گفت مشتاب و تندی مکن
“When Piran heard these words from Homan, he said to him: 'Do not rush, nor act with fierce haste!'”
#14
بدان ای برادر که این رزمخواه
✦
که آمد چنین پیش ما با سپاه
“'Know, my brother, that this seeker of battle who has come before us with an army,'”
#15
گزین بزرگان کیخسروست
✦
سر نامداران هر پهلوست
“'Is the chosen of Kay Khosrow's elders, the chieftain of noble heroes on every side.'”
#16
یکی آنک کیخسرو از شاه من
✦
بدو سر فرازد به هر انجمن
“'First, Kay Khosrow exalts his status over my king in every assembly;'”
#17
و دیگر که از پهلوانان شاه
✦
ندانم چو گودرز کس را به جاه
“'Second, among the king's heroes, I know no one equal to Goudarz in dignity,'”
#18
به گردن‌فرازی و مردانگی
✦
به رای هشیوار و فرزانگی
“'In pride, manhood, prudent council, and wisdom.'”
#19
سه دیگر که پرداغ دارد جگر
✦
پر از خون دل از درد چندان پسر
“'Third, his liver is scorched with grief, his heart filled with blood for the pain of so many sons,'”
#20
که از تن سرانشان جدا مانده‌ایم
✦
زمین را به خون گرد بنشانده‌ایم
“'Whose heads we severed from their bodies, quenching the dust of the earth with their blood.'”
#21
کنون تا به تنش اندرون جان بود
✦
بر این کینه چون مار پیچان بود
“'Now, as long as life remains within his body, he will twist like a serpent in this vengeance.'”
#22
چهارم که لشکر میان دو کوه
✦
فرود آوریدست و کرده گروه
“'Fourth, he has stationed his army between two mountains, gathering his forces together.'”
#23
ز هر سو که پویی بدو راه نیست
✦
براندیش کین رنج کوتاه نیست
“'Whichever way you turn, there is no path to attack him; consider well that this hardship will not be brief!'”
#24
بکوشید باید بدان تا مگر
✦
از آن کوه‌پایه برآرند سر
“'We must bide our time until perchance they venture forth from the foot of that mountain,'”
#25
مگر مانده گردند و سستی کنند
✦
به جنگ اندرون پیشدستی کنند
“'Or grow weary and lax, or precipitously initiate the combat themselves.'”
#26
چو از کوه بیرون کند لشکرش
✦
یکی تیرباران کنم بر سرش
“'When he brings his army out from the mountain, I shall unleash a rain of arrows upon their head!'”
#27
چو دیوار گرد اندر آریمشان
✦
چو شیر ژیان در بر آریمشان
“'We shall encircle them like a wall and embrace them like raging lions!'”
#28
بر ایشان بگردد همه کام ما
✦
برآید به خورشید بر نام ما
“'Then all our desires against them will be fulfilled, and our name will rise to the sun.'”
#29
تو پشت سپاهی و سالار شاه
✦
برآورده از چرخ گردان کلاه
“'You are the pillar of the army and the king's supreme commander, whose crown touches the turning sky.'”
#30
کسی کو به نام بلندش نیاز
✦
نباشد چه گردد همی گرد آز
“'One who has no need of a high name, why should he hover around greed and rashness?'”
#31
و دیگر که از نامداران جنگ
✦
نیاید کسی نزد ما بی‌درنگ
“'Furthermore, none of their famous combatants will come forth to us without careful deliberation.'”
#32
ز گردان کسی را که بی‌نام‌تر
✦
ز جنگ سواران بی‌آرام‌تر
“'From his warriors, he will send someone less famous, more restless for cavalry combat,'”
#33
ز لشکر فرستد به پیشت بکین
✦
اگر برنوردی بر او بر زمین
“'And send him out from the army against you; even if you trample him into the ground,'”
#34
ترا نام از آن برنیاید بلند
✦
به ایرانیان نیز ناید گزند
“'No high renown will come to you, nor will the Iranians suffer any real injury.'”
#35
وگر بر تو بر دست یابد به خون
✦
شوند این دلیران ترکان زبون
“'But if he should prevail over you with blood, these brave Turanians will be utterly humiliated.'”
#36
نگه کرد هومان به گفتار اوی
✦
همی خیره دانست پیکار اوی
“Homan looked upon his speech and deemed his brother's cautious fighting mere folly.”
#37
چنین داد پاسخ کز ایران سوار
✦
نباشد که با من کند کارزار
“He replied: 'There is no horseman in Iran who can withstand me in combat!'”
#38
ترا خود همین مهربانیست خوی
✦
مرا کارزار آمدست آرزوی
“'It is your nature to be overly gentle; as for me, battle is my heart's sole desire!'”
#39
وگر کت به کین جستن آهنگ نیست
✦
به دلت اندرون آتش جنگ نیست
“'And if you have no inclination to seek vengeance, and the fire of war burns not in your heart,'”
#40
کنم آنچ باید بدین رزمگاه
✦
نمایم هنرها به ایران سپاه
“'I shall do what must be done on this field of battle, and display my martial skill before the army of Iran!'”
#41
شوم چرمهٔ گامزن زین کنم
✦
سپیده دمان جستن کین کنم
“'I shall go and saddle my swift grey steed, and at dawn's light ride forth to seek vengeance!'”