When King Goshtasp received word of the victorious return of his valiant son, Esfandiyar, who had subdued distant realms and spread the sacred faith, a dark shadow cast by the slanderous whispers of Gorzam settled upon the monarch's heart. He summoned all the nobles, mobads, and warlords of the realm, placing the holy books of the Zand and Avesta before him. The priests took their exalted seats upon the thrones, and Prince Esfandiyar—the swift-bladed champion—entered the imperial presence, his arms folded reverently across his chest like a dutiful servant.
Goshtasp addressed the mobads and assembled elders with words steeped in malice and veiled bitter accusation. He spoke of how a father endures endless toil to raise a son, entrusting him to nurses, crowning him with gold, and training him in battle and horsemanship until he becomes a formidable warrior. Yet, when the son reaches the height of his power and the father grows frail with age, the ungrateful son deems the old king unfit for the throne, leaving the father with nothing but a empty title while claiming the army, the banner, and the realm for himself—even wishing the father dead to seize the crown. Goshtasp turned to the wise elders and demanded to know how a father ought to deal with such a treacherous heir.
The shocked elders replied that for a son to covet the throne while his father still lived was an unheard-of folly and an unpardonable sin. Goshtasp declared: 'Here stands the son who plots to take his father's place! Yet I shall punish him so severely that all the world shall take warning. I shall bind him in heavy fetters, such as no mortal has ever endured!'
Hearing these terrible words, the pure-hearted Esfandiyar stepped forward, crying: 'O noble King! Never has the desire for your death crossed my mind! I know of no transgression committed in all my days. By your life, if evil dwelt within my heart, strike off my head! Yet you are king, and the command is yours; I am your subject, and the chains and prison belong to you. Order me bound or slain as you will; my heart remains pure and my soul serene.'
Yet Goshtasp's heart remained hardened by jealousy and suspicion. He summoned the blacksmiths, who brought forth heavy iron fetters, collars, and massive chains. In that silent assembly, no noble dared open his mouth to intercede for the prince. They bound Esfandiyar's hands, feet, and neck before the monarch; so tightly were his feet fettered that all who witnessed the sight wept bitterly. Once the heavy iron chain was clamped around his neck, Goshtasp commanded that a swift, powerful bull elephant be brought forth. Esfandiyar was bound securely to the elephant's back and carried away from his father's presence, his eyes welling with tears and his face pale with grief.
Escorted by warlords, they bore the prince toward the treacherous crags of the mountain fortress of Gombadan. Upon the heights, four colossal iron pillars were raised, rooted deep within the earth and reaching toward the heavens. There, they chained the invincible prince tightly to the iron pillars, casting him down from his royal glory into heartbreak and captivity, leaving him guarded by stern sentinels to weep bitterly in pain and solitude.
#1
چو آگاه شد شاه کامد پسر
✦
کلاه کیان بر نهاده بسر
“When the king learned that his son had arrived, wearing the Kianian crown upon his head,”
#2
مهان و کهانرا همه خواند پیش
✦
همه زند و استا به نزدیک خویش
“He summoned all the nobles, great and small, bringing the Zand and Avesta near to him.”
#3
همه موبدان را به کرسی نشاند
✦
پس آن خسرو تیغ‌زن را بخواند
“He seated all the mobads upon thrones, then called for that sword-wielding kingly warrior.”
#4
بیامد گو و دست کرده بکش
✦
به پیش پدر شد پرستار فش
“The champion arrived with arms folded in reverence, standing before his father like a dutiful servant.”
#5
شه خسروان گفت با موبدان
✦
بدان رادمردان و اسپهبدان
“The king of kings spoke to the mobads, to those noble men and warlords:”
#6
چه گویید گفتا که آزاده‌اید
✦
به سختی همه پرورش داده‌اید
“"What say you," he said, "for you are noble, and have raised children through hardship?”
#7
به گیتی کسی را که باشد پسر
✦
بدو شاد باشد دل تاجور
“When a man in this world has a son, the monarch's heart rejoices in him.”
#8
به هنگام شیرین به دایه دهد
✦
یکی تاج زرینش بر سر نهد
“In due time he entrusts him to a nurse, and sets a golden crown upon his head.”
#9
همی داردش تا شود چیره دست
✦
بیاموزدش خوردن و بر نشست
“He nurtures him until he grows powerful, teaching him etiquette and how to ride.”
#10
بسی رنج بیند گرانمایه مرد
✦
سورای کندش آزموده نبرد
“The noble man endures great toil to make him a battle-tested knight.”
#11
چو آزاده را ره به مردی رسد
✦
چنان زر که از کان به زردی رسد
“When the noble son reaches manhood, gleaming like pure gold drawn from the mine,”
#12
مراورا بجوید چو جویندگان
✦
ورا بیش گویند گویندگان
“Seekers search for him, and storytellers sing his praises.”
#13
سواری شود نیک و پیروز رزم
✦
سرانجمنها به رزم و به بزم
“He becomes a splendid knight, victorious in war, the leader of assemblies in battle and feast.”
#14
چو نیرو کند با سرو یال و شاخ
✦
پدر پیر گشته نشسته به کاخ
“But when he gains strength of arm and chest, while the father has grown old and sits in his palace,”
#15
جهان را کند یکسره زو تهی
✦
نباشد سزاوار تخت مهی
“The son clears the world of his father's presence, believing the old man unfit for the royal throne!”
#16
ندارد پدر جز یکی نام تخت
✦
نشسته در ایوان نگهبان رخت
“The father retains nothing but the empty title of the throne, sitting in his hall as a mere guardian of goods.”
#17
پسر را جهان و درفش و سپاه
✦
پدر را یکی تاج و زرین کلاه
“The son claims the world, the banner, and the host, leaving the father only a crown and golden hat.”
#18
نباشد بران پور همداستان
✦
پسندند گردان چنین داستان
“Can any noble agree with such a son? Do champions approve of such a story?”
#19
ز بهر یکی تاج و افسر پسر
✦
تن باب را دور خواهد ز سر
“For the sake of a crown and diadem, the son desires the father's head severed from his shoulders!”
#20
کند با سپاهش پس آهنگ اوی
✦
نهاده دلش نیز بر جنگ اوی
“He marches against his father with his army, his heart set upon waging war against him!”
#21
چه گویید پیران که با این پسر
✦
چه نیکو بود کار کردن پدر
“Speak, elders! How should a father deal with such a son?"”
#22
گزینانش گفتند کای شهریار
✦
نیاید خود این هرگز اندر شمار
“The chosen nobles replied: "O King! Such a deed is unthinkable and beyond measure.”
#23
پدر زنده و پور جویای گاه
✦
ازین خام‌تر نیز کاری مخواه
“For a son to seek the throne while his father lives—ask for no foolish deed worse than this!"”
#24
جهاندار گفتا که اینک پسر
✦
که آهنگ دارد به جای پدر
“The ruler of the world said: "Here stands the son who plots to take his father's place!”
#25
ولیکن من او را به چوبی زنم
✦
که گیرند عبرت همه برزنم
“Yet I shall punish him with such a stroke that all the world shall take warning!”
#26
ببندم چنانش سزاوار پس
✦
ببندی که کس را نبستست کس
“I shall bind him as he deserves, in fetters such as no man has ever been bound before!"”
#27
پسر گفت کای شاه آزاده‌خوی
✦
مرا مرگ تو کی کند آرزوی
“The prince said: "O noble-natured King! When did I ever desire your death?”
#28
ندانم گناهی من ای شهریار
✦
که کردستم اندر همه روزگار
“I know of no sin, O Sovereign, that I have committed in all my life.”
#29
به جان تو ای شاه گر بد به دل
✦
گمان برده‌ام پس سرم بر گسل
“By your life, O King! If I harbored evil in my heart, then sever my head from my body!”
#30
ولیکن تو شاهی و فرمان تراست
✦
تراام من و بند و زندان تراست
“Yet you are king and the command is yours; I am your servant, and the fetters and prison belong to you.”
#31
کنون بند فرما و گر خواه کش
✦
مرا دل درستست و آهسته هش
“Now order me bound, or slay me if you wish; my heart is pure and my mind serene."”
#32
سر خسروان گفت بند آورید
✦
مر او را ببندید و زین مگذرید
“The king of kings commanded: "Bring fetters! Bind him tightly, and depart not from this command!"”
#33
به پیش آوریدند آهنگران
✦
غل و بند و زنجیرهای گران
“Blacksmiths brought forth heavy bonds, shackles, and massive iron chains.”
#34
دران انجمن کس به خواهش زبان
✦
نجنبید بر شهریار جهان
“In that assembly, no one dared open their mouth to plead before the king of the world.”
#35
ببستند او را سر و دست و پای
✦
به پیش جهاندار گیهان خدای
“They bound his arms, legs, and neck before the ruler of the world.”
#36
چنانش ببستند پای استوار
✦
که هرکش همی دید بگریست زار
“They bound his feet so firmly that whoever saw it wept bitterly.”
#37
چو کردند زنجیر در گردنش
✦
بفرمود بسته به در بردنش
“When they put the heavy chain around his neck, the king ordered him led outside in bonds.”
#38
بیارید گفتا یکی پیل نر
✦
دونده پرنده چو مرغی به پر
“He ordered: "Bring a mighty male elephant, fast-moving and swift as a bird on the wing!"”
#39
فراز آوریدند پیلی چو نیل
✦
مر او را ببستند بر پشت پیل
“They brought an elephant dark as the Nile and bound Esfandiyar upon its back.”
#40
چو بردندش از پیش فرخ پدر
✦
دو دیده پر از آب و رخساره‌تر
“As they led him away from his royal father, his eyes were full of tears and his cheeks wet with sorrow.”
#41
فرستاده سوی دژ گنبدان
✦
گرفته پس و پیش اسپهبدان
“He was dispatched toward the Fortress of Gombadan, surrounded before and behind by warlords.”
#42
پر از درد بردند بر کوهسار
✦
ستون آوریدند ز آهن چهار
“Full of anguish, they carried him up the mountain, bringing four massive pillars of iron.”
#43
به کرده ستونها بزرگ آهنین
✦
سر اندر هوا و بن اندر زمین
“They erected those huge iron pillars, their tops reaching into the air and their bases rooted deep in the earth.”
#44
مر او را برانجا ببستند سخت
✦
ز تختش بیفگند و برگشت بخت
“They bound him tightly to those pillars; he was cast down from his throne as fortune turned against him.”
#45
نگهبان او کرد پس‌اند مرد
✦
گو پهلوان زاده با داغ و درد
“Afterwards, many men were set to guard him, as the hero-born prince remained in severe suffering and pain.”
#46
بدان تنگی اندر همی زیستی
✦
زمان تا زمان زار بگریستی
“In that narrow cell of dire affliction he endured his days, weeping bitterly time after time.”