#1
بهشتم سوی غاتفر گشت گرد
✦
سیه شد جهان چوشب لاژورد
“Paradise turned to dark ruin around Ghatfar; the world grew black as lapis lazuli night.”
#2
شکست اندر آمد به هیتالیان
✦
شکستی که بستنش تا سالیان
“A crushing defeat fell upon the Hephthalites—a wound that could not be mended for years to come.”
#3
ندیدند وهرکس کزیشان بماند
✦
به دل در همی نام یزدان بخواند
“They saw no salvation; whoever among them survived called upon God's name in their heart.”
#4
پراگنده بر هر سویی خسته بود
✦
همه مرز پر کشته و بسته بود
“Scattered in every direction were the wounded; the entire borderland was thick with the slain and captives.”
#5
همی این بدان آن بدین گفت جنگ
✦
ندیدیم هرگز چنین با درنگ
“One soldier said to another: 'Never have we witnessed a war fought with such relentless endurance.'”
#6
همانا نه مردم بُدند آن سپاه
✦
نشایست کردن بدیشان نگاه
“'Surely that army were no mortal men; one could not even bear to gaze directly upon them.'”
#7
به چهره همه دیو بودند و دد
✦
به دل دور ز اندیشه نیک و بد
“'In visage they were all like demons and beasts; in heart, far removed from thoughts of good and evil.'”
#8
ز ژوپین وز نیزه و گُرز و تیغ
✦
تو گفتی ندانند راه گریغ
“'With javelin, spear, mace, and sword, you would say they knew no path of retreat.'”
#9
همه چهرهٔ اژدها داشتند
✦
همه نیزه بر ابر بگذاشتند
“'All bore the fierce visages of dragons; all held their spears high into the clouds.'”
#10
همه چنگ‌هاشان بسان پلنگ
✦
نشد سیر دلشان تو گویی ز جنگ
“'Their grips were like panthers' claws; their hearts, it seemed, never grew satiated with battle.'”
#11
یکی زین ز اسبان نبرداشتند
✦
بخفتند و بر برف بگذاشتند
“'Not a single saddle did they unbind from their steeds; they slept upon the bare snow.'”
#12
خورش بارگی را همه خار بود
✦
سواری بخفتی دو بیدار بود
“'Thorns were fodder for their mounts; while one horseman slept, two remained vigilantly awake.'”
#13
نداریم ما تاب خاقان چین
✦
گذر کرد باید به ایران‌زمین
“'We have no power to withstand the Khagan of China; we must submit to the land of Iran.'”
#14
گر ای دون که فرمان برد غاتفر
✦
ببندد به فرمان کسری کمر
“'If Ghatfar yields and obeys, binding his waist in service to Khosrow...'”
#15
سپارد بدو شهر هیتال را
✦
فرامش کند گُرز و کوپال را
“'...and surrenders the cities of Heftal to him, forgetting his heavy mace and warring ways...'”
#16
وگرنه خود از تخمهٔ خوشنواز
✦
گزینیم جنگاوری سرفراز
“'...otherwise, we ourselves shall choose an exalted warrior from the noble line of Khushnawaz...'”
#17
که او شاد باشد بنوشین‌روان
✦
بدو دولت پیر گردد جوان
“'...who will be pleasing unto Anushirvan, so that through him our aging fortune may grow young again.'”
#18
بگوید بدو کار خاقان چین
✦
جهانی برو بر کنند آفرین
“'He will recount to him the deeds of the Khagan of China, and the whole world shall sing his praises.'”
#19
که با فر و برزست و بخش و خرد
✦
همی راستی را خرد پرورد
“'For Khosrow possesses divine grace, majesty, good fortune, and wisdom—and wisdom ever nurtures truth.'”
#20
نهادست بر قیصران باژ و ساو
✦
ندارند با او کسی زور و تاو
“'He has imposed tribute and taxes upon the Caesars of Rome; no man possesses the strength to challenge him.'”
#21
ز هیتالیان کودک و مرد وزن
✦
برین یک سخن برشدند انجمن
“From the Hephthalites—child, man, and woman alike—all united upon this single counsel.”
#22
چغانی گوی بود فرخ‌نژاد
✦
جهانجوی پر دانش و بخش و داد
“There was a hero of Chaghan, born of blessed lineage, a noble seeker of the world filled with wisdom, generosity, and justice.”
#23
خردمند و نامش فغانیش بود
✦
که با گنج و با لشکر خویش بود
“He was deeply wise and named Faghanish, possessing his own vast treasures and powerful host.”
#24
بزرگان هیتال وخاقان چین
✦
به شاهی برو خواندند آفرین
“The Hephthalite nobles and the Khagan of China hailed him with praise, crowning him as their rightful king.”