When King Kasra Noshinravan awoke from his slumber and beheld the wise Bozorgmehr standing before him, gloomily biting his lip in deep silence, mistrust flared within the monarch's chest. Suspecting that the vizier had divined some ominous truth or harbored hidden malice, the King lashed out in sudden rage, crying that though he held the throne, his body was crafted of dust, wind, and fire like any mortal, and none had the right to probe his inner nature. Kasra rained bitter reproaches upon his counselor, yet the sagacious Bozorgmehr offered no reply save for a cold sigh, realizing that the turns of the celestial sphere had ushered in his downfall and that silence was his only shield. Wrathful and unyielding, the King mounted his steed amid his assembled host in the lush meadow and rode straight back to the royal palace, refusing even to glance at his minister along the way. Upon arriving, Kasra commanded that a heavily guarded palace be converted into an ironclad prison, casting the great sage into dark confinement as the bonds of royal affection were severed.
#1
چو بیدار شد شاه و او را بدید
✦
کزان سان همی لب بدندان گزید
“When the king awoke and beheld him, biting his lip in such a sorrowful manner,”
#2
گمانی چنان برد کو را بخواب
✦
خورش کرد بر پرورش برشتاب
“He suspected he had offered him some ill food in his sleep, and rushed to nurture his suspicion.”
#3
بدو گفت کای سگ تو را این که گفت
✦
که پالایش طبع بتوان نهفت
“He said to him, 'O dog, who told you that the secret nature of man can be hidden?'”
#4
نه من اورمزدم و گر بهمنم
✦
ز خاکست وز باد و آتش تنم
“'I am neither Ohrmazd nor Bahman; my frame is fashioned of dust, wind, and fire.'”
#5
جهاندار چندی زبان رنجه کرد
✦
ندید ایچ پاسخ جز ار باد سرد
“The ruler of the world troubled his tongue with angry words, but received no answer save a cold sigh.”
#6
بپژمرد بر جای بوزرجمهر
✦
ز شاه و ز کردار گردان سپهر
“Bozorgmehr withered on the spot from the King's fury and the turning of the revolving sky.”
#7
که بس زود دید آن نشان نشیب
✦
خردمند خامش بماند از نهیب
“For he quickly perceived the signs of decline, and the wise man remained silent out of awe.”
#8
همه گرد بر گرد آن مرغزار
✦
سپه بود و اندر میان شهریار
“All around that meadow lay the army, and in their midst stood the monarch.”
#9
نشست از بر اسب کسری بخشم
✦
ز ره تا در کاخ نگشاد چشم
“Kasra mounted his horse in wrath, and from the path to the palace gate he did not open his eyes toward him.”
#10
همه ره ز دانا همی لب گزید
✦
فرود آمد از باره چندی ژکید
“All along the road he bit his lip at the sage; he dismounted his steed and grumbled in fury.”
#11
بفرمود تا روی سندان کنند
✦
بداننده بر کاخ زندان کنند
“He commanded that they forge a palace into an anvil-hard prison for the man of wisdom.”
#12
دران کاخ بنشست بوزرجمهر
✦
ازو برگسسته جهاندار مهر
“In that palace Bozorgmehr was confined, as the world's master severed all affection from him.”