A roar of battle rose from the opposing hosts, casting up dust so thick that the sun paled to lapis lazuli and stars seemed to glint through the daylight haze. Sensing his impending doom, Afrasiab selected two veteran envoys to carry a solemn message to King Kay Khosrow. He reminded Khosrow of the vast, grueling thousand leagues from Iran to Gang, lamenting that the earth from China to Iran had become a blood-red sea. Afrasiab offered to yield his crown, treasure, and realm and vanish forever—or, if Khosrow's heart burned for vengeance, to face him in single combat on a remote field so that innocent soldiers need not drown in gore.
Kay Khosrow listened to the message and pondered the challenge, telling Rostam that fighting the son of Pashang and great-grandson of Fereydun brought him no shame, especially if it might avenge his slaughtered brother Shideh. But Rostam strongly advised against it, warning the King that Afrasiab was a deceitful sorcerer whose heart was filled with cruelty and lies. Rostam insisted that a monarch should not risk his life when champions like Rostam and the valiant Giv stood ready to crush the enemy.
Persuaded by Rostam's wisdom, Khosrow sent the envoy back with a scathing refusal, recalling Afrasiab's past treachery toward Prince Siyavash. Hearing the rejection, Afrasiab was seized with despair. Yet Khosrow pressed the attack, and a violent clash ensued; arrows fell like hail upon helmets and mail, and the soil turned crimson beneath the horses' hooves until darkness enveloped the plain.
Anticipating that Afrasiab would attempt a desperate night raid to turn the tide, Kay Khosrow ordered all fires extinguished and war-bells silenced. He commanded deep trenches to be dug along the approach. Dividing his forces, he sent Tus to command the mountain passes while Rostam took the open plain, laying a lethal double-ambush to ensnare the Turanians should they dare strike under the cover of night.
#1
وز آن پس برآمد ز لشکر خروش
✦
زمین و زمان شد پر از جنگ و جوش
“Thereupon a roaring clamor arose from the host, and the earth and heavens were filled with the frenzy of war.”
#2
ستاره پدید آمد از تیره گرد
✦
رخ زرد خورشید شد لاژورد
“Stars glinted amidst the dark dust of battle, and the pale face of the sun turned lapis-lazuli blue.”
#3
سپهدار ترکان از آن انجمن
✦
گزین کرد کار آزموده دو تن
“The warlord of the Turanians selected from that assembly two battle-tested men of wisdom.”
#4
پیامی فرستاد نزدیک شاه
✦
که کردی فراوان پس پشت راه
“He sent a message unto the Shah, saying: 'Thou hast traversed a vast and grueling road behind thee...'”
#5
همانا که فرسنگ ز ایران هزار
✦
بود تا به گنگ اندر ای شهریار
“'Verily, O Sovereign, it is a thousand leagues from Iran to the realm of Gang!'”
#6
ز ریگ و بیابان وز کوه و شخ
✦
دو لشکر بر این سان چو مور و ملخ
“'Across sands, deserts, mountains, and stony crags, both armies swarmed like ants and locusts.'”
#7
زمین همچو دریا شد از خون کین
✦
ز گنگ و ز چین تا به ایران زمین
“'The earth has become a sea with the blood of vengeance, stretching from Gang and Chin to the land of Iran.'”
#8
اگر خون آن کشتگان را ز خاک
✦
به ژرفی برد رای یزدان پاک
“'If the decree of holy God should sweep the blood of those slain deep into the soil...'”
#9
همانا چو دریای قلزم شود
✦
دو لشکر به خون اندرون گم شود
“'It would form a Red Sea wherein both hosts would drown in gore.'”
#10
اگر گنج خواهی ز من گر سپاه
✦
وگر بوم ترکان و تخت و کلاه
“'If thou seekest treasure from me, or armies, or the land of the Turanians, their throne, and crown—'”
#11
سپارم ترا من شوم ناپدید
✦
جز از تیغ جان را ندارم کلید
“'I shall surrender them all to thee and vanish, for I have no key left for life save the blade.'”
#12
مکن گر ترا من پدر مادرم
✦
ز تخم فریدون افسونگرم
“'Do not do this, for am I not thy mother's father, sprung from the line of the sorcerer Fereydun?'”
#13
ز کین پدر گر دلت خیره شد
✦
چنین آب من پیش تو تیره شد
“'If thy heart is blinded by vengeance for thy father, thus has my honor turned dark before thee.'”
#14
از آن بد سیاوش گنهکار بود
✦
مرا دل پر از درد و تیمار بود
“'Yet for that evil, Siyavash himself was to blame, though my heart was filled with pain and grief.'”
#15
دگر گردش اختران بلند
✦
که هم با پناهند و هم با گزند
“'Moreover, it was the turning of the lofty stars, which bring both refuge and affliction.'”
#16
مرا سالیان شست بر سر گذشت
✦
که با نامداری نرفتم به دشت
“'Sixty years have passed over my head wherein I went not into the field of battle against any renowned knight.'”
#17
تو فرزندی و شاه ایران توی
✦
به رزم اندرون چنگ شیران توی
“'Thou art my child and the Shah of Iran; in battle thou hast the fierce grip of lions.'”
#18
یکی رزمگاهی گزین دوردست
✦
نه بر دامن مرد خسروپرست
“'Choose a distant battlefield, far from the hem of thy Khosrow-worshipping men.'”
#19
بگردیم هر دو به آوردگاه
✦
به جایی کز او دور ماند سپاه
“'Let us two combat in that arena, in a place far removed from the armies.'”
#20
اگر من شوم کشته بر دست تو
✦
ز دریا نهنگ آورد شست تو
“'If I am slain by thy hand, thy hook will have pulled the crocodile from the sea!'”
#21
تو با خویش و پیوند مادر مکوش
✦
به پرهیز وز کینه چندین مجوش
“'Strive not against thy maternal kin and heritage; refrain thyself and boil not so with vengeance!'”
#22
وگر تو شوی کشته بر دست من
✦
به زنهار یزدان کز آن انجمن
“'And if thou art slain by my hand, I swear by God's refuge that from that host...'”
#23
نمانم که یک تن بپیچد ز درد
✦
دگر بیند از باد خاک نبرد
“'I will not suffer a single man to writhe in pain or behold the dust of battle again.'”
#24
ز گوینده بشنید خسرو پیام
✦
چنین گفت با پور دستان سام
“Khosrow heard the message from the envoy, and thus spoke unto the son of Dastan-e Sam:”
#25
که این ترک بدساز مردم فریب
✦
نبیند همی از بلندی نشیب
“'This evil-natured, deceitful Turk sees not the descent from his height!'”
#26
به چاره چنین از کف ما بجست
✦
نماید که بر تخت ایران نشست
“'Through trickery he escaped our grasp, as though he sat securely upon the throne of Iran!'”
#27
ز آورد چندین بگوید همی
✦
مگر دخمهٔ شیده جوید همی
“'He speaks so much of single combat—is he perhaps seeking the grave of his son Shideh?'”
#28
نبیره فریدون و پور پشنگ
✦
به آورد با او مرا نیست ننگ
“'He is the great-grandson of Fereydun and son of Pashang; to fight him in battle brings me no shame.'”
#29
بدو گفت رستم که ای شهریار
✦
بدین در مدار آتش اندر کنار
“Rostam said unto him: 'O King, harbour not fire in thy bosom on this matter!'”
#30
که ننگست بر شاه رفتن به جنگ
✦
وگر همنبرد تو باشد پشنگ
“'For it is a disgrace for a Shah to go into battle, even were thy opponent Pashang himself!'”
#31
دگر آن که گوید که با لشکرم
✦
مکن جنگ با دوده و کشورم
“'Furthermore, as for his plea that thou fight not his host, his family, and his realm...'”
#32
ز دریا به دریا ترا لشکرست
✦
کجا رایشان ز این سخن دیگرست
“'Thou hast armies stretching from sea to sea, whose wisdom and resolve differ greatly from his deceitful words.'”
#33
چو پیمان یزدان کنی با نیا
✦
نشاید که در دل بود کیمیا
“'When thou makest a covenant with God concerning thy grandfather, no deceitful potion should dwell in thy heart.'”
#34
به انبوه لشکر به جنگ اندر آر
✦
سخن چند آلودهٔ نابکار
“'Engage him with the full mass of thy army; why heed these polluted, worthless words?'”
#35
ز رستم چو بشنید خسرو سخن
✦
یکی دیگر اندیشه افگند بن
“When Khosrow heard the words of Rostam, he laid the foundation of a new strategy.”
#36
به گوینده گفت این بداندیش مرد
✦
چنین با من آویخت اندر نبرد
“He said to the messenger: 'This evil-minded man has thus engaged me in battle...'”
#37
فزون کرد از این با سیاوش وفا
✦
زبان پر فسون بود دل پرجفا
“'He pledged even more loyalty than this to Siyavash! His tongue was full of sorcery, his heart full of cruelty.'”
#38
سپهبد به کژی نگیرد فروغ
✦
زبان خیره پر تاب و دل پر دروغ
“'A warlord gains no glory through crookedness, with a wildly flickering tongue and a heart full of lies.'”
#39
گر ایدون که رایش نبردست و بس
✦
جز از من نبرد ورا هست کس
“'If indeed his only desire is combat, there are others besides me to give him battle!'”
#40
تهمتن به جایست و گیو دلیر
✦
که پیکار جویند با پیل و شیر
“'Rostam Tahamtan is present, and valiant Giv, who seek battle with elephants and lions!'”
#41
اگر شاه با شاه جوید نبرد
✦
چرا باید این دشت پر مرد کرد
“'If king seeks combat with king, why should this plain be filled with slain men?'”
#42
نباشد مرا با تو ز این بیش جنگ
✦
ببینی کنون روز تاریک و تنگ
“'I have no further words for thee; thou shalt now behold thy dark and narrow day!'”
#43
فرستاده برگشت و آمد چو باد
✦
شنیده سراسر بر او کرد یاد
“The messenger returned like the wind and recounted all that he had heard unto Afrasiab.”
#44
پر از درد شد جان افراسیاب
✦
نکرد ایچ بر جنگ جستن شتاب
“Afrasiab's soul was filled with anguish, and he made no haste to seek immediate battle.”
#45
سپه را به جنگ اندر آورد شاه
✦
بجنبید ناچار دیگر سپاه
“Yet the Shah brought his host into battle, and perforce the opposing army moved.”
#46
یکی با درنگ و یکی با شتاب
✦
زمین شد به کردار دریای آب
“One side advancing with deliberate patience and the other with headlong speed, the earth turned into a stormy sea.”
#47
ز باریدن تیر گفتی ز ابر
✦
همی ژاله بارید بر خود و ببر
“From the relentless rain of arrows, you would say a dark cloud was raining hail upon armor and tiger-skin coats.”
#48
ز شبگیر تا گشت خورشید لعل
✦
زمین پر ز خون بود در زیر نعل
“From early dawn until the sun burned ruby-red at dusk, the ground beneath the horses' hooves was soaked with blood.”
#49
سپه بازگشتند چون تیره گشت
✦
که چشم سواران همی خیره گشت
“As night fell and dark obscurity blurred the horsemen's eyes, the armies withdrew from the field.”
#50
سپهدار با فر و نیرنگ و ساز
✦
چو آمد به لشکرگه خویش باز
“When the glorious commander, rich in royal aura, tact, and strategy, returned once more to his camp,”
#51
چنین گفت با طوس کامروز جنگ
✦
نه بر آرزو کرد پور پشنگ
“He spoke to Tus: 'Today's battle did not unfold according to the heart's desire of Pashang's son.'”
#52
گمانم که امشب شبیخون کند
✦
ز دل درد دیرینه بیرون کند
“'I suspect he will launch a surprise night attack to purge the ancient anguish from his heart.'”
#53
یکی کنده فرمود کردن به راه
✦
بر آن سو که بد شاه توران سپاه
“He commanded a trench to be dug along the road, facing the side where the Turanian king's army lay.”
#54
چنین گفت کآتش نسوزید کس
✦
نباید که آید خروش جرس
“He ordered: 'Let no man light a fire, and let not the sound of a single bell be heard.'”
#55
ز لشکر سواران که بودند گرد
✦
گزین کرد شاه و به رستم سپرد
“From the army, the king selected the valiant and seasoned horsemen and placed them under Rustam's command.”
#56
دگر بهره بگزید ز ایرانیان
✦
که بندند بر تاختن بر میان
“He chose another division of Iranians to gird their loins for a swift, decisive strike.”
#57
به طوس سپهدار داد آن گروه
✦
بفرمود تا رفت بر سوی کوه
“He entrusted that force to Commander Tus and ordered him to advance toward the mountain slopes.”
#58
تهمتن سپه را به هامون کشید
✦
سپهبد سوی کوه بیرون کشید
“Tahamtan led his warriors into the open plain, while the general pulled his troops up along the mountain.”
#59
بفرمود تا دور بیرون شوند
✦
چپ و راست هر دو به هامون شوند
“He commanded them to spread far out, flanking both the left and the right across the open land.”
#60
طلایه مدارند و شمع و چراغ
✦
یکی سوی دشت و یکی سوی راغ
“They were to set advanced guards without torch or candle, one toward the plain and another toward the hill-slope.”
#61
بدان تا اگر سازد افرسیاب
✦
بر او بر شبیخون به هنگام خواب
“So that if Afrasiab should attempt a surprise assault under the cover of night while the camp slept,”
#62
گر آید سپاه اندر آید ز پس
✦
بماند نباشدش فریادرس
“When his army charged, they would be trapped from behind with no helper or escape left to them.”