Eskandar

When Iskandar had finished the solemn rites of his previous affairs, he turned his sharp mind toward a renowned sage to test the depth of his intellect in a silent battle of wits. He dispatched a massive bowl filled to the brim with ox-tallow to the philosopher, conveying the message that the sage should anoint his weary limbs to cast off fatigue, and then prepare to enrich the monarch's soul with his wisdom.

The sage looked upon the bowl of oil and perceived the hidden riddle behind the King's gift. Without a word, he cast a thousand fine iron needles into the vessel of oil and sent it back to Iskandar. Upon examining the needles, Iskandar secretly summoned his blacksmiths and ordered them to melt the thousand points together, forging them into a single, dense iron sphere, which was promptly returned to the philosopher.

Touching the dark iron sphere, the philosopher immediately fashioned it into a mirror so polished and luminous that it reflected light like clear water, sending it back to Iskandar under the cover of night without breaking his silence. Iskandar then laid the polished mirror in a damp place, keeping it submerged in moisture until it grew tarnished, blackened, and corroded with rust, before sending it back once more.

Undeterred, the wise man scoured the iron clean until it gleamed anew, but this time he coated it with a special elixir so that moisture could no longer easily darken its surface, and returned it swiftly to the King. Marvelling at these actions, Iskandar summoned the sage to his presence, seated him beside him on the royal throne, and asked for the true interpretation of their symbolic dialogue.

The sage explained that the bowl of oil signified Iskandar's boast of overwhelming wisdom and the physical exhaustion of the philosopher's old age; the thousand needles were the sage's response—that a wise heart can penetrate the subtlest truths, piercing through obstacles as needles enter oil. Iskandar then revealed that his iron sphere represented a ruler's heart hardened by war and bloodshed, and the rust was the dark stain of years of violent slaughter. The sage’s final act—polishing the mirror and coating it against future corrosion—demonstrated that heavenly wisdom can cleanse a ruler's rust-covered soul completely, rendering it permanently immune to dark doubts.

Delighted by these profound revelations, Iskandar ordered his treasurer to bestow robes of honor, silver, gold, and a vessel filled with precious gems upon the sage. Yet the philosopher refused the royal bounty, declaring that he possessed a hidden jewel—Wisdom—that brings no enemies and is not bound to Ahriman's worldly greed. It required no night watchmen nor did it fear thieves. Touched by such noble asceticism, Iskandar marvelled at the philosopher's virtue and swore to hold his wise counsel dear for the rest of his reign.