In an era when the realm of Iran rested in peaceful tranquility and hardship had faded from its borders, the wise minister stood before King Bahram Gur with a grave counsel. He spoke of Shangal, the ruler of the Indian domains, whose spirit had turned away from justice, fostering bandits and turmoil from the borders of India to China, and demanding tribute from Sind while encroaching upon Iranian power. The minister urged the King of kings to address this defiance before dishonor or chaos touched the realm.
As the King pondered these words, the world seemed to darken before him like a dense forest. In the quiet depths of his mind, Bahram conceived a bold and secret plan: he would not merely send an army or an ordinary ambassador, but would travel himself disguised as his own imperial envoy, to personally inspect Shangal's forces, throne, and royal customs without revealing his identity to the Iranian nobles.
Bahram summoned his trusty minister and scribe, ordering parchment, musk, and reed pen to draft a grand missive. The letter opened with magnificent praises to Yazdan—the One Creator of all existence, who is single without peer. It hailed Wisdom as the supreme crown of monarchs and the jewel of the renowned, observing that he who is guided by intellect never consigns the world to evil deeds.
Turning his verse toward Shangal, Bahram severely rebuked the ruler's boundless arrogance and foolishness. He reminded Shangal that his forebears had served the monarchs of Iran as humble vassals. Furthermore, Bahram cited the fateful ruin of the Khagan of China, who had dared to invade Iran only to flee in utter humiliation, leaving all his spoils behind.
Warning the Indian sovereign not to direct his tiny stream against Iran's roaring ocean, Bahram presented Shangal with a stark ultimatum: either submit willingly by offering royal tribute (baazh), or prepare for devastating warfare against an undivided, formidable Iranian host. Once the ink dried in the sweet breeze, the document was perfumed with musk and addressed from King Bahram—son of Yazdegerd, vanquisher of evil, ruler of Rome and Saqlab—to Shangal, keeper of India from the Sea of Qannuj to the borders of Sind.