At the onset of the Third Trial, Prince Esfandiyar summoned the treacherous Gurgsar and plied him with three goblets of ruby wine. Once the captive was merry, Esfandiyar inquired what ordeal lay ahead on the morrow. Gurgsar warned him of a monstrous dragon inhabiting the next stage—a beast whose body was like a mountain of solid flint, breathing blazes of fire and capable of pulling leviathans out of the sea with its breath. Gurgsar urged the prince to turn back and spare his own life and the lives of his host.
Esfandiyar scoffed at the warning, declaring that no monster could escape his blade. He commanded master carpenters to construct a heavy wooden chariot bristling with razor-sharp blades along its frame, topped with a sturdy wooden box. Equipping the carriage with two noble steeds, Esfandiyar tested the invention, locking himself inside the box while driving the horses.
At break of dawn, clad in full mail with a Kabuli dagger at his side, Esfandiyar entrusted the host to his loyal brother Peshotan and drove the bladed chariot toward the beast's lair. Hearing the rumble of wheels, the dark dragon emerged like a storm cloud, roaring and spouting fire. Opening its cavernous jaws, it swallowed both horses and the chariot whole. However, the protruding blades slashed its mouth and throat, pinning its jaws wide open like swords trapped in a sheath.
Seizing the moment, Esfandiyar leapt out from inside the wooden chest and drove his sword deep into the beast's skull, shattering its brain. As the dragon perished, a thick plume of venomous smoke erupted from its carcass, suffocating the prince and rendering him unconscious on the earth. Peshotan and the army rushed forward in dismay. Opening his eyes, Esfandiyar reassured his men that he had suffered no wound save for fainting from toxic fumes. He then washed in nearby waters, donned fresh garments, and bowed his head in humble prayer to Yazdan for his miraculous victory.