When the solemn period of mourning for Rostam came to its end, his valiant son Faramarz turned his heart toward vengeance. He unsealed the vast treasuries of his father, the Elephant-Bodied, distributing weapons and riches to the warriors of Zabulistan. At dawn, the thunderous brass of trumpets, Indian bells, and heavy war drums echoed across the realm. Faramarz marched his host from Zabul toward Kabul, raising a tempest of dust so immense that the sun was utterly extinguished from the sky.
News of the Zabulian host reached the King of Kabul, who hastily summoned his scattered forces. Steel clashed against steel as the earth hardened like iron and the sky darkened to lapis lazuli under the gloom of war. The dust of the battlefield grew so dense that even wild lions lost their path through the woods. Faramarz, riding at the head of his forces, kept his eyes fixed upon the treacherous King of Kabul. As the drums beat for total charge, Faramarz plunged directly into the heart of the enemy lines and seized the Kabuli monarch with his own hands.
With their king captured, the army of Kabul dissolved into chaos. The champions of Zabul pursued them like hunting wolves, cutting down the lords of Sind and the noble brahmins of Hind. The earth of the battlefield turned to crimson mud, and the fleeing host abandoned their homes, wives, and children. Faramarz ordered the bleeding, bound King of Kabul to be placed in an elephant howdah and transported to the hunting grounds—the very site where the treacherous pit had been dug.
There, Faramarz stripped the bowstring across the Kabuli monarch's back with such fury that sinew and bone were exposed. He then suspended the king upside down inside the fatal pit, leaving his mouth choked with blood and soil. Forty of the king's idol-worshiping kinsmen were cast into flames. Faramarz then turned toward the scorched plane tree where the body of the traitor Shaghad still hung pinned by Rostam's final arrow. He kindled a mountain of fire that consumed Shaghad, the tree, and the very ground beneath them.
Having eradicated the treacherous dynasty, Faramarz appointed a loyal ruler over Kabul, ensuring that no remnant of the old line remained unbowed before his blade. He then returned to Zabulistan and Bost, his heart heavy with grief and smoke. The entire populace came out to meet him with torn garments and weeping eyes; for a full year, all of Sistan remained robed in dark indigo and black, mourning the immortal Rostam.
#1
فرامرز چون سوک رستم بداشت
✦
سپه را همه سوی هامون گذاشت
“When Faramarz finished mourning Rostam, he led the host out toward the open plain.”
#2
در خانهٔ پیلتن باز کرد
✦
سپه را ز گنج پدر ساز کرد
“He opened the doors of the Elephant-Bodied's treasury and equipped the army from his father's wealth.”
#3
سحرگه خروش آمد از کرنای
✦
هم از کوس و رویین و هندی درای
“At dawn, loud cries arose from the brass trumpets, the war drums, and the Indian bells.”
#4
سپاهی ز زابل به کابل کشید
✦
که خورشید گشت از جهان ناپدید
“He led an army from Zabul toward Kabul, so vast that the sun disappeared from the world.”
#5
چو آگاه شد شاه کابلستان
✦
ازان نامداران زابلستان
“When the King of Kabulistan learned of those renowned warriors of Zabulistan,”
#6
سپاه پراگنده را گرد کرد
✦
زمین آهنین شد هوا لاژورد
“He gathered his scattered troops; the earth turned to iron and the sky to dark lapis lazuli.”
#7
پذیرهٔ فرامرز شد با سپاه
✦
بشد روشنایی ز خورشید و ماه
“He went out with his army to confront Faramarz, until the light of both sun and moon vanished.”
#8
سپه را چو روی اندر آمد به روی
✦
جهان شد پرآواز پرخاشجوی
“As the armies faced each other, the world filled with the clamor of fierce battle.”
#9
ز انبوه پیلان و گرد سپاه
✦
به بیشه درون شیر گم گرد راه
“From the multitude of elephants and the dust of the host, lions lost their way within the thickets.”
#10
برآمد یکی باد و گردی کبود
✦
زمین ز آسمان هیچ پیدا نبود
“A dark wind and a gloom of dust arose, such that earth could not be distinguished from sky.”
#11
بیامد فرامرز پیش سپاه
✦
دو دیده نبرداشت از روی شاه
“Faramarz advanced ahead of his army, never taking his eyes off the face of the King.”
#12
چو برخاست آواز کوس از دو روی
✦
بی‌آرام شد مردم جنگجوی
“When the thunder of war drums echoed from both sides, every warrior grew restless for the fight.”
#13
فرامرز با خوارمایه سپاه
✦
بزد خویشتن را بر آن قلبگاه
“Faramarz charged with his agile force and struck directly at the heart of the enemy host.”
#14
ز گرد سواران هوا تار شد
✦
سپهدار کابل گرفتار شد
“The air grew dark with the dust of horsemen, and the commander of Kabul was taken prisoner.”
#15
پراگنده شد آن سپاه بزرگ
✦
دلیران زابل به کردار گرگ
“That great army broke into flight, while the heroes of Zabul hunted them down like wolves.”
#16
ز هر سو بریشان کمین ساختند
✦
پس لشکراندر همی تاختند
“They laid ambushes on every side and pursued the retreating army from behind.”
#17
بکشتند چندان ز گردان هند
✦
هم از برمنش نامداران سند
“They slew so many warriors of Hind and proud chieftains of Sind,”
#18
که گل شد همی خاک آوردگاه
✦
پراگنده شد هند و سندی سپاه
“That the soil of the battlefield turned to bloody mud, and the army of Hind and Sind was utterly scattered.”
#19
دل از مرز وز خانه برداشتند
✦
زن و کودک خرد بگذاشتند
“They lost all heart for their land and homes, abandoning their women and small children.”
#20
تن مهتر کابلی پر ز خون
✦
فگنده به صندوق پیل اندرون
“The body of the Kabuli chieftain, drenched in blood, was cast bound inside an elephant crate.”
#21
بیاورد لشکر به نخچیرگاه
✦
به جایی کجا کنده بودند چاه
“He brought the army to the hunting ground, to the exact spot where the treacherous pits had been dug.”
#22
همی برد بدخواه را بسته دست
✦
ز خویشان او نیز چل بت‌پرست
“He brought his bound enemy, along with forty idol-worshiping kinsmen of his.”
#23
ز پشت سپهبد زهی برکشید
✦
چنان کاستخوان و پی آمد پدید
“He drew a bowstring across the commander's back so harshly that bone and sinew became visible.”
#24
ز چاه اندر آویختنش سرنگون
✦
تنش پر ز خاک و دهن پر ز خون
“He hung him headlong inside the pit, his body covered in dirt and his mouth filled with blood.”
#25
چهل خویش او را بر آتش نهاد
✦
ازان جایگه رفت سوی شغاد
“He set his forty kinsmen upon the fire, and then moved from that place toward Shaghad.”
#26
به کردار کوه آتشی برفروخت
✦
شغاد و چنار و زمین را بسوخت
“He kindled a blaze like a mountain, burning Shaghad, the plane tree, and the very ground beneath.”
#27
چو لشکر سوی زابلستان کشید
✦
همه خاک را سوی دستان کشید
“When the army marched back to Zabulistan, they brought the dust and spoils home to Dastan (Zal).”
#28
چو روز جفاپیشه کوتاه کرد
✦
به کابل یکی مهتری شاه کرد
“Having cut short the days of that oppressor, he appointed a noble chieftain as king over Kabul.”
#29
ازان دودمان کس به کابل نماند
✦
که منشور تیغ ورا برنخواند
“No one of that dynasty remained in Kabul who did not submit to the decree of his sword.”
#30
ز کابل بیامد پر از داغ و دود
✦
شده روز روشن بروبر کبود
“He returned from Kabul filled with grief and smoke, his bright day turned into dark blue sorrow.”
#31
خروشان همه زابلستان و بست
✦
یکی را نبد جامه بر تن درست
“All Zabulistan and Bost were weeping; not a single person had intact garments upon their body.”
#32
به پیش فرامرز باز آمدند
✦
دریده بر و با گداز آمدند
“They came before Faramarz with torn chests, melting away in profound sorrow.”
#33
به یک سال در سیستان سوک بود
✦
همه جامه‌هاشان سیاه و کبود
“For an entire year, mourning reigned in Sistan, and all their garments remained black and dark blue.”