When Mihran Sitad, the wise and discerning ambassador of Khosrow Anushirvan, arrived at the court of the Khagan of China, he bowed low to the earth and showered royal praises upon the sovereign. The Khagan welcomed the Iranian envoy warmly and assigned him a high seat of honor worthy of the Great King's messenger. Yet in secret, the Khagan was filled with anxious thoughts, and he retired to the private quarters of his queen, the Khatun, to deliberate upon Khosrow Anushirvan's proposal for a royal alliance.
'This King Anushirvan,' the Khagan said to his queen, 'is young, vigilant, and blessed with rising fortune. His armies are vast and his treasury beyond measure. We ought to give him a royal daughter to elevate our own prestige. Yet you have one true princess who wears the crown over all women, and four wise maidservants in your inner chambers. Might we not give him one of the maidservants instead, thereby resting from war while preserving our own flesh and blood?' The Khatun consented to this cunning plan.
At dawn, as the sun climbed the mountains, Mihran Sitad presented himself at court and delivered the letter and greetings of Anushirvan. The Khagan smiled at the Iranian monarch's noble promise and handed the key to the royal harem to Mihran Sitad, inviting him to enter and personally choose the bride. Four trusted guardians accompanied the ambassador. As they walked through the grand corridors, the guardians whispered: 'She whom you shall see today has never been beholden by star, sun, or wind.'
Stepping into the inner palace, Mihran Sitad beheld a chamber adorned like Paradise, filled with light and wealth. Five fairy-faced maidens sat upon magnificent thrones. Four of them were clad in radiant brocades of China, crowned with jewels, and bedecked with golden necklaces and armlets. But the fifth—the Khatun's true daughter—wore no crown or royal jewels. She was dressed in humble, worn clothing with only a simple cap upon her head. Yet her beauty was entirely divine: a slender cypress crowned by a luminous new moon, radiating natural grace without artificial paint.
Mihran Sitad, endowed with deep wisdom and keen perception, immediately grasped that the Khagan and Khatun were seeking to deceive him so as to keep their true daughter. Without hesitation, he approached the unadorned princess and declared: 'I choose this maiden who sits without crown or adornment, for her innate nobility and natural glory exceed all worldly treasures. I came seeking true virtue, not Chinese silk!'
The Khatun was dismayed and protested: 'O old man, why do you reject these splendid, majestic maidens who know how to serve a king, and choose instead an unadorned youth?' Mihran Sitad replied firmly: 'If the Khagan turns away from justice, my sovereign will judge me as foolish and untrustworthy. I choose her who possesses true royal lineage, even if she lacks an ivory throne or golden torc.'
Seeing the old ambassador's unwavering discernment and courage, the Khagan marveled at his intellect and recognized him as a noble, honorable man. He ordered the council hall cleared, and mobads, astronomers, and sages were summoned with Roman astronomical charts to read the stars regarding this union.
Examining the celestial spheres and the movements of the planets, the astrologers joyfully announced to the Khagan: 'O King, let no sorrow touch your heart! This union shall yield nothing but supreme good. From the line of Khosrow Anushirvan and this daughter of the Khagan shall be born a glorious future king—Hormoz—upon whom both the monarchs of Iran and the valiant lords of China shall pour endless blessings!'
#1
چوآمد به نزدیک خاقان چین
✦
زمین را ببوسید و کرد آفرین
“When he arrived before the Khagan of China, he kissed the ground and offered praise.”
#2
جهانجوی چون دید بنواختش
✦
یکی نامور جایگه ساختش
“When the world-seeker saw him, he welcomed him warmly and provided him a place of honor.”
#3
ازان کارخاقان پراندیشه گشت
✦
به سوی شبستان خاتون گذشت
“Full of anxious thoughts regarding this matter, the Khagan went to the quarters of the Khatun.”
#4
سخنهای نوشین‌روان برگشاد
✦
ز گنج وز لشکر بسی کرد یاد
“He spoke of Anushirvan's message, recalling his vast treasuries and armies.”
#5
بدو گفت کین شاه نوشین‌روان
✦
جوانست و بیدار و دولت جوان
“He said to her: 'This King Anushirvan is young, vigilant, and his fortune is youthful and strong.'”
#6
یکی دختری داد باید بدوی
✦
که ما را فزاید بدو آبروی
“'We must give him a daughter, so that our honor and prestige may be magnified through him.'”
#7
تو را در پس پرده یک دخترست
✦
کجا بر سر بانوان افسرست
“'You have a daughter behind the veil who wears the crown above all women.'”
#8
مرا آرزویست از مهر اوی
✦
که دیده نبردارم از چهر اوی
“'My desire out of love for her is such that I cannot bear to avert my eyes from her face.'”
#9
چهارست نیز از پرستندگان
✦
پرستار و بیداردل بندگان
“'There are also four attentive, faithful maidservants among her attendants.'”
#10
از ایشان یکی را سپارم بدوی
✦
برآسایم از جنگ وز گفت و گوی
“'Let us commit one of them to him, and so find relief from war and endless dispute.'”
#11
بدو گفت خاتون که با رای تو
✦
نگیرد کس اندر جهان جای تو
“Khatun replied to him: 'In comparison with your wisdom, no one in the world holds higher rank.'”
#12
برین گونه یک شب بپیمود خواب
✦
چنین تا برآمد ز کوه آفتاب
“In this manner they passed the night until the sun rose above the mountain.”
#13
بیامد بدر گاه مهران ستاد
✦
برتخت او رفت و نامه بداد
“Mihran Sitad came to the court, approached the throne, and delivered the royal letter.”
#14
چوآن نامه برخواند خاقان چین
✦
ز پیمان بخندید وز به گزین
“When the Khagan of China read that letter, he smiled at the pact and the invitation to choose.”
#15
کلید شبستان بدو داد و گفت
✦
برو تا کرا بینی اندر نهفت
“He gave the key of the inner chambers to him and said: 'Go inside and see whom you choose in secret.'”
#16
پرستار با او بیامد چهار
✦
که خاقان بدیشان بدی استوار
“Four attendant maidservants accompanied him, in whom the Khagan placed his full trust.”
#17
چومهران ستاد آن سخنها شنید
✦
بیاورد با استواران کلید
“When Mihran Sitad heard those words, he brought the key with those trusted guardians.”
#18
درحجره بگشاد و اندر شدند
✦
پرستندگان داستانها زدند
“They opened the chamber door and entered; the attendants began to tell wondrous tales:”
#19
که آن راکه اکنون تو بینی بداد
✦
ستاره ندیدست و خورشید و باد
“'She whom you shall now see given to you, neither star, nor sun, nor wind has ever beheld!'”
#20
شبستان بهشتی شد آراسته
✦
پر از ماه و خورشید و پرخواسته
“The harem was adorned like Paradise, filled with moon-faced, sun-like maidens and great riches.”
#21
پری چهره بر گاه بنشست پنج
✦
همه برسران تاج و در زیر گنج
“Five fairy-faced beauties sat upon thrones, all wearing crowns and surrounded by treasures.”
#22
مگر دخت خاتون که افسر نداشت
✦
همان یاره وطوق وگوهرنداشت
“Except the daughter of Khatun, who wore no crown, nor armlet, nor necklace, nor jewels.”
#23
یکی جامهٔ کهنه بد بر برش
✦
کلاهی زمشک ایزدی بر سرش
“A humble, worn garment was upon her body, and a simple cap of musk-colored fabric upon her head.”
#24
ز کرده به رخ بر نگارش نبود
✦
جز آرایش کردگارش نبود
“There was no artificial rouge upon her cheek; she possessed no decoration save that of the Creator.”
#25
یکی سرو بد بر سرش ماه نو
✦
فروزان ز دیدار او گاه نو
“She was a tall cypress crowned by a new moon, illuminating the new court with her radiance.”
#26
چومهران ستاد اندرو بنگرید
✦
یکی را بدیدار چون او ندید
“When Mihran Sitad looked upon her, he saw none among them who could compare to her beauty.”
#27
بدانست بینادل رای راد
✦
که دورند خاقان وخاتون ز داد
“The wise, perceptive envoy understood that the Khagan and Khatun had strayed from justice.”
#28
به دستار ودستان همی چشم اوی
✦
بپوشید وزان تازه شد خشم اوی
“With cleverness he covered his eyes with a cloth, and a new wave of indignation stirred within him.”
#29
پرستنده را گفت نزدیک شاه
✦
فراوان بود یاره و تاج و گاه
“He said to the attendant: 'Near the King, there are armlets, crowns, and thrones in abundance.'”
#30
من این را که بی‌تاج و آرایشست
✦
گزیدم که این اندر افزایشست
“'I choose this one who is without crown and adornment, for her merit and stature are naturally rising.'”
#31
به رنج از پی به گزین آمدم
✦
نه از بهر دیبای چین آمدم
“'I endured hardships to select the truly worthy, not to seek out Chinese silk brocade!'”
#32
بدو گفت خاتون که ای مرد پیر
✦
نگویی همی یک سخن دلپذیر
“Khatun said to him: 'O old man, you speak not a single pleasing word!'”
#33
تو آن را که با فر و زیبست و رای
✦
دل فروز گشته رسیده به جای
“'How can you reject one who possesses splendour, beauty, wisdom, and an enlightened mind?'”
#34
به بالای سرو و به رخ چون بهار
✦
بداند پرستیدن شهریار
“'One with a cypress stature and a spring-like face who knows how to serve a sovereign king?'”
#35
همی کودکی نارسیده به جای
✦
برو برگزینی نه ای پاکرای
“'And instead choose an unadorned, young child? You are surely not of pure judgement!'”
#36
چنین پاسخ آورد مهران ستاد
✦
که خاقان اگر سر بپیچد ز داد
“Mihran Sitad brought forth this answer: 'If the Khagan turns his head away from justice,'”
#37
بداند که شاه جهان کدخدای
✦
بخواند مرا نیز ناپاک رای
“'He should know that the King of the World, master of the realm, will judge me also as deceitful.'”
#38
من این را پسندم که بی‌تخت عاج
✦
ندارد ز بن یاره وطوق وتاج
“'I approve of this maiden, though she has no ivory throne, nor armlet, nor torc, nor crown.'”
#39
اگر مهتران این نبینند رای
✦
چو فرمان بود باز گردم به جای
“'If the elders do not approve this choice, then as commanded, I shall return home.'”
#40
نگه کرد خاقان به گفتار اوی
✦
شگفت آمدش رای وکردار اوی
“The Khagan looked upon his speech, and marveled at his judgement and noble conduct.”
#41
بدانست کان پیر پاکیزه مغز
✦
بزرگست و شایسته کار نغز
“He realized that the pure-minded old envoy was great and worthy of delicate matters.”
#42
خردمند بنشست با رای‌زن
✦
بپالود زایوان شاه انجمن
“The wise monarch sat with his counselors, and cleared the royal hall of all onlookers.”
#43
چو پردخته شد جایگاه نشست
✦
برفتند با زیج رومی بدست
“When the seat was emptied, they stepped forward holding Roman astronomical tables in hand.”
#44
ستاره شناسان و کندآوران
✦
هرآنکس که بودند ز ایشان سران
“The astrologers and brave champions, whoever among them were leaders and chiefs,”
#45
بفرمود تا هر کرا بود مهر
✦
بجستند یک سر شمار سپهر
“He commanded that for every loved one, they thoroughly search the reckoning of the heavens.”
#46
همی‌کرد موبد به اختر نگاه
✦
زکردار خاقان و پیوند شاه
“The mobad examined the stars, reading the actions of Khagan and the alliance with the King.”
#47
چنین گفت فرجام کای شهریار
✦
دلت را ببد هیچ رنجه مدار
“Thus spoke the Mobad of the outcome: 'O King, let not your heart be troubled in any way!'”
#48
که این کار جز بر بهی نگذرد
✦
ببد رای دشمن جهان نسپرد
“'For this matter shall pass only into goodness; bad counsel of enemies will not overcome the world.'”
#49
چنینست راز سپهر بلند
✦
همان گردش اختر سودمند
“'Such is the secret of the high heavens, and the revolving of the beneficial star:'”
#50
کزین دخت خاقان وز پشت شاه
✦
بیاید یکی شاه زیبای گاه
“'That from this daughter of Khagan and the lineage of the King, a splendid monarch shall be born to the throne.'”
#51
برو شهریاران کنند آفرین
✦
همان پرهنر سرفرازان چین
“'Upon whom all sovereigns shall offer blessings, as well as the accomplished leaders of China.'”