When tidings of the disastrous battle reached Salm, he cast his eyes behind him toward a formidable sea-fortress whose high towers pierced the azure heavens. Recognizing that the tides of Fortune ebbed and flowed, Salm intended to make this impregnable citadel his final sanctuary. But Qaran, the keen-sighted commander of the Iranian vanguard, perceived the enemy's intent. He knew that if Salm secured himself within that sea-surrounded fortress—whose battlements brushed the clouds and housed vast royal treasures beneath the auspicious shadow of the Homa bird—no force could ever dislodge him.
Acting with swift resolve, Qaran conceived a masterstroke of strategy. Taking the signet ring stripped from the fallen Prince Tur, he revealed his stratagem only to the brave Garshasp and Shirwi. As black ebony night draped over the earth, war-drums were strapped onto the elephant saddles. Qaran committed the main army to Shirwi, instructing him to march secretly toward the sea and lie in wait. Qaran vowed to disguise himself as Tur's messenger, gain entry into the fortress using the signet ring, and raise the royal banner of King Manuchehr atop its towers as a signal for Shirwi's storming party.
Under cover of darkness, Qaran approached the formidable fortress. He called out to the castellan, presenting Tur's royal seal and claiming he had been dispatched by Tur himself to fortify the citadel against Manuchehr's approaching host. Fooled by the authentic signet ring and the warrior's artful deception, the unsuspecting castellan threw open the heavy iron gates.
At the break of dawn, Qaran unveiled his true purpose. He raised the majestic Iranian war standard high above the ramparts and sounded his battle cry. Seeing the imperial flag gleaming in the morning light, Shirwi and his fierce champions charged forth, storming the gates and putting the garrison to the sword. Fire was set to the battlements, consuming the stronghold in raging blazes until thick, pitch-black smoke soared into the clouds. By noon, where once stood a mighty sea-citadel, only ashes, ruined walls, and rivers of blood remained—the sea turned dark as pitch and the surrounding plains crimsoned with the slain.
#1
به سلم آگهی رفت ازین رزمگاه
✦
وزان تیرگی کاندر آمد به ماه
“Word reached Salm of the bloody battlefield, and of the darkness that had fallen upon their bright moon.”
#2
پس پشتش اندر یکی حصن بود
✦
برآورده سر تا به چرخ کبود
“Behind him stood a fortress impregnable, raising its crest to the blue firmament.”
#3
چنان ساخت کاید بدان حصن باز
✦
که دارد زمانه نشیب و فراز
“He planned to retreat to that citadel, knowing well that destiny brings both high and low fortunes.”
#4
هم این یک سخن قارن اندیشه کرد
✦
که برگاشتش سلم روی از نبرد
“This very thought was also pondered by Qaran, as soon as Salm turned his face from the battle.”
#5
کلانی دژش باشد آرامگاه
✦
سزد گر برو بربگیریم راه
“He said: 'That great fortress will be his refuge; it is right that we cut off his path to it.'”
#6
که گر حصن دریا شود جای اوی
✦
کسی نگسلاند ز بن پای اوی
“'For if that sea-encircled stronghold becomes his haven, no one will ever root him out.'”
#7
یکی جای دارد سر اندر سحاب
✦
به چاره برآورده از قعر آب
“'He holds a place whose summit touches the clouds, built by artifice from the depths of the waters.'”
#8
نهاده ز هر چیز گنجی به جای
✦
فگنده برو سایه پر همای
“'Where treasures of every kind are stored, over which the wing of the auspicious Homa casts its shade.'”
#9
مرا رفت باید بدین چاره زود
✦
رکاب و عنان را بباید بسود
“'I must make haste with this stratagem; I must press stirrup and rein without delay.'”
#10
اگر شاه بیند ز جنگ‌آوران
✦
به کهتر سپارد سپاهی گران
“'If the king approves, let him entrust the heavy army to a lesser commander.'”
#11
همان با درفش همایون شاه
✦
هم انگشتر تور با من به راه
“'And give me the royal auspicious banner, together with Tur's signet ring, to take on my way.'”
#12
بباید کنون چاره‌ای ساختن
✦
سپه را به حصن اندر انداختن
“'Now a ruse must be fashioned to cast our host into the inner fortress.'”
#13
من و گرد گرشاسپ وین تیره شب
✦
برین راز بر باد مگشای لب
“'I and brave Garshasp in this dark night—do not breathe a word of this secret to the wind!'”
#14
چو روی هوا گشت چون آبنوس
✦
نهادند بر کوههٔ پیل کوس
“When the face of the sky turned black as ebony, they bound the war-drums onto the saddles of the elephants.”
#15
همه نامداران پرخاشجوی
✦
ز خشکی به دریا نهادند روی
“All the renowned warlike chieftains turned their faces from the dry land toward the sea.”
#16
سپه را به شیروی بسپرد و گفت
✦
که من خویشتن را بخواهم نهفت
“Qaran entrusted the host to Shirwi and said: 'I shall conceal my identity.'”
#17
شوم سوی دژبان به پیغمبری
✦
نمایم بدو مهر انگشتری
“'I will go to the castellan as a messenger, showing him the seal of the signet ring.'”
#18
چو در دژ شوم برفرازم درفش
✦
درفشان کنم تیغ های بنفش
“'Once inside the fortress, I will raise the standard and draw forth the gleaming violet blades.'”
#19
شما روی یکسر سوی دژ نهید
✦
چنانک اندر آید دمید و دهید
“'Then march your forces toward the citadel, advancing swiftly as a rushing gale.'”
#20
سپه را به نزدیک دریا بماند
✦
به شیروی شیراوژن و خود براند
“He left the army near the sea with Shirwi, the lion-slayer, and rode forward alone.”
#21
بیامد چو نزدیکی دژ رسید
✦
سخن گفت و دژدار مهرش بدید
“When he arrived near the citadel, he spoke, and the fortress keeper saw the signet ring.”
#22
چنین گفت کز نزد تور آمدم
✦
بفرمود تا یک زمان دم زدم
“He said: 'I come from Prince Tur, who bade me hasten without a moment's rest.'”
#23
مرا گفت شو پیش دژبان بگوی
✦
که روز و شب آرام و خوردن مجوی
“'He said: Go to the castellan and tell him to seek no rest or food by day or night;'”
#24
کز ایدر درفش منوچهر شاه
✦
سوی دژ فرستد همی با سپاه
“'For from here, King Manuchehr sends his royal standard with a host toward the citadel.'”
#25
تو با او به نیک و به بد یار باش
✦
نگهبان دژ باش و بیدار باش
“'Stand by him through good and ill; guard the fortress and remain ever vigilant!'”
#26
چو دژبان چنین گفتها را شنید
✦
همان مهر انگشتری را بدید
“When the castellan heard these words and saw the seal of the signet ring,”
#27
همان گه در دژ گشادند باز
✦
بدید آشکارا ندانست راز
“He opened the gates of the citadel at once, seeing what was apparent but unknowing of the secret ruse.”
#28
نگر تا سخنگوی دهقان چه گفت
✦
که راز دل آن دید کو دل نهفت
“See what the wise storyteller said: that only he who guards his heart can discern true secrets.”
#29
مرا و تو را بندگی پیشه باد
✦
ابا پیشه‌مان نیز اندیشه باد
“Let service be our craft, and let wise reflection accompany our labor.”
#30
به نیک و به بد هر چه شاید بدن
✦
بباید همی داستان ها زدن
“Whatever good or ill may come to pass, stories must be told of it all.”
#31
چو دژدار و چون قارن رزمجوی
✦
یکایک به روی اندر آورده روی
“Thus the castellan and battle-seeking Qaran stood face to face;”
#32
یکی بدسگال و یکی ساده دل
✦
سپهبد به هر چاره آماده دل
“One malicious and cunning, the other simple-hearted; the commander prepared with every artifice.”
#33
همی جست آن روز تا شب زمان
✦
نه آگاه دژدار از آن بدگمان
“He waited for the day to turn to night, while the clueless castellan suspected no ill.”
#34
به بیگانه بر مهر خویشی نهاد
✦
بداد از گزافه سر و دژ به باد
“The castellan gave his love to a stranger, and recklessly gave his head and fortress to the wind.”
#35
چو شب روز شد قارن رزمخواه
✦
درفشی برافراخت چون گرد ماه
“When night gave way to day, Qaran the warrior raised a banner bright as the full moon.”
#36
خروشید و بنمود یک یک نشان
✦
به شیروی و گردان گردن کشان
“He shouted and gave signals one by one to Shirwi and the noble champions.”
#37
چو شیروی دید آن درفش یلی
✦
به کین روی بنهاد با پردلی
“When Shirwi saw that heroic standard, he charged in vengeance with a lion's courage.”
#38
در حصن بگرفت و اندر نهاد
✦
سران را ز خون بر سر افسر نهاد
“They seized the fortress gates and rushed inside, crowning the enemy leaders with their own blood.”
#39
به یک دست قارن به یک دست شیر
✦
به سر گرز و تیغ آتش و آب زیر
“With Qaran on one side and Shirwi on the other, maces and swords rained down like fire above, and blood like water below.”
#40
چو خورشید بر تیغ گنبد رسید
✦
نه آیین دژ بد نه دژبان پدید
“By the time the radiant sun reached the dome of midday, neither the fortress remained nor its castellan.”
#41
نه دژ بود گفتی نه کشتی بر آب
✦
یکی دود دیدی سراندر سحاب
“You would say no citadel had ever stood there, nor ships upon the water; only smoke billowing into the clouds.”
#42
درخشیدن آتش و باد خاست
✦
خروش سواران و فریاد خاست
“Flashing fire gleamed, violent winds arose, and the roar of warriors and screams echoed everywhere.”
#43
چو خورشید تابان ز بالا بگشت
✦
چه آن دژ نمود و چه آن پهن دشت
“As the shining sun turned down from its peak, the wide plain and the citadel looked as one ruin.”
#44
بکشتند از ایشان فزون از شمار
✦
همی دود از آتش برآمد چو قار
“They slaughtered countlessly among them, and black smoke rose from the blaze like pitch.”
#45
همه روی دریا شده قیرگون
✦
همه روی صحرا شده جوی خون
“The surface of the sea turned black as pitch, and the face of the desert became a river of blood.”