When the mobads and sages of the Sasanian court proved utterly helpless before the enigmatic puzzle sent by the Caesar of Rome, deep distress fell upon the heart of King Khosrow Anushirvan. The Caesar had dispatched a magnificent golden casket, tightly sealed and stamped with a lock of musk, declaring that Iran's throne must yield tribute if its renowned sages could not divine what lay hidden within its velvet dark without breaking the seal.
In his desperation, Khosrow remembered Bozorgmehr. Remorse pierced the king's heart for having cast his matchless vizier into a dark dungeon. Realizing that only Bozorgmehr's illuminated mind could pierce this mystery, the King ordered fine robes from the royal treasury and a noble steed, dispatching a messenger to the prison to apologize for past grievances and plead for his counsel.
Upon hearing the royal summons, Bozorgmehr felt the sting of old wounds. Yet, he cleansed his body and bowed before the Sovereign Creator, lamenting his innocence and the king's prior wrath. As dawn crowned the heavens with radiant gold, Bozorgmehr—his physical sight dimmed by the relentless gloom of the dungeon—resorted to the luminous wellspring of inner wisdom. Accompanied by a sighted guide, he set out along the road, instructing his companion to observe the marital and maternal status of the first three women who crossed their path as divining omens.
The first woman revealed she had a husband and carried a child; the second was wedded but childless; the third was a maiden who had never known a man. From these three precise signs, Bozorgmehr instantly deciphered the nature of the three pearls concealed within the Roman casket: one fully pierced, one half-pierced, and one completely unpierced.
With a knowing smile, the wise vizier proceeded to the palace. When King Anushirvan beheld his grand vizier standing before the throne—weakened, with clouded eyes and a pale countenance—he drew a cold sigh from the depths of his chest, profoundly repenting his cruel treatment of an innocent sage, and welcomed him back to royal grace.