Praise be unto the Creator of the Universe, and blessings upon that exalted monarch whose head adorns the crown, throne, and signet ring of royalty. He is a sovereign whose treasuries groan with the sheer abundance of his bounties, and whose glorious name elevates the very concept of majesty. His infinite armies sweep from sea to sea, and the wide world abides peacefully beneath the radiant shadow of his royal crown. He is the master of renown, the possessor of uncounted treasure, and the lord of the blade, coat of mail, and martial triumph; no mine exists upon the earth that has not recited the decree of his limitless generosity. In the banquet hall he lays open vast riches, and upon the field of battle his discerning eye perceives the deepest trials of warfare.
The boughs of faith and wisdom bear fruit under his noble guidance, and his thoughts are perpetually shielded by the Divine Creator. When he draws his sharp sword, he awakens a resurrection throughout the earth, stripping wealth from enemies to bestow upon allies, with the victorious God as his supreme helper. In feast he is an ocean of munificence, and in fight a lion with the countenance of the sun. Earth, water, and the sun itself bear witness that the world has never seen a king his equal in effort, bounty, and heroic renown. His fury strikes fear into the very stars, and his army is so densely packed that even the wind finds no passage between their ranks, preceded by seven hundred war elephants with God and Gabriel as his guardians.
King Mahmud, who brings the heads of the arrogant down to the dust and decorates the turning sky with his reign, preserves the world with justice and intellect. Amidst this cosmic grandeur, the aging poet—having endured sixty-five years of hardship and toil, seeing his raven locks turn to camphor white—finds solace in rearing this monumental epic. Joining his ancient book of true legends to the name of the sovereign, he erects a lofty palace of verse that neither wind nor rain can ever erode, ensuring his work remains an eternal testament for all generations possessing wisdom.