The king of kings, when he had ordered thus
The matter of the chiefs, went to his throne.
Now of the chiefs Luhrásp remained, whose name
None read upon the roll of royalty,
And him the Sháh required Bízhan to bring
Before the presence with his helmet on.
The worldlord when he saw Luhrásp arose,
Saluted him with outstretched hands and then,

Descending from the famous ivory throne,
Took from his head the heart-illuming crown,
Resigned it to Luhrásp and hailed him Sháh
Of all the Íránian realm, and said to him:—
“May this thy crown prove fortunate to thee;
Be all the world thy slave. On thee have I,
Since mine exceeding toil and pain are over,
Bestowed the crown of kingship and the treasure.
Speak naught but what is just henceforth, for thou
Through justice wilt be conquering and glad.
Make not the Dív the comrade of thy soul
If thou wilt keep thy fortune vigorous;
Be prudent and without offence, and set
For evermore a watch upon thy tongue.”
He said to the Íránians: “Let your hearts
Be joyful in his fortune and his throne.”
The Íránians were amazed, they raged like lions,
And said: “Must we salute Luhrásp as Sháh?”
Then from among them Zál rose to his feet
To speak the righteous counsels of his heart,
And said on this wise: “O exalted king!
Thou mayest make dust precious, but may dust,
Dust only, fill the head of that man's fortune,
And antidotes prove poison in his mouth,
Who sayeth that Luhrásp is Sháh by right.
We never will consent to such injustice.
Whenas he came Írán-ward with Zarasp
I saw him poor, and owning but one horse;
Thou sentest him to battle with the Aláns,
Providing him with army, flag, and belt.
His birth I know not; I have seen no merit
In him; I never heard of such a monarch.
Though nobles of the royal race abound
The Sháh hath not remembered one of them!”
When Zál, the son of Sám, had spoken thus
The whole assembly sided with the speaker,
And from the Íránians rose a shout: “O Sháh!
Henceforth we will not gird our loins or seek
To fight at all upon the battlefield
If now the king exalteth thus Luhrásp.”
Khusrau, when he had heard the words of Zál,
Replied: “Restrain thyself and be not wroth,
For whoso speaketh that which is not just
Will only get the smother of the fire,
Since God approveth not of ill from us,
And bad men writhe 'neath time's vicissitudes,
While he whom God createth for high fortune,
Fit to be monarch and adorn the throne,
Endowed with modesty, Faith, birth, and Grace
Will flourish, conquer, and rejoice in justice.
The Maker is my witness when I say
That all these qualities are in Luhrásp.
He is descended from Húshang the worldlord,
A noble of discernment and clean hands,
A scion of Pashín and Kai Kubád,
Well stocked with knowledge, righteous in his
thoughts.
He will cut off the sorcerers from the earth,
And manifest the way of holy God,
His counsels will renew the age's youth,
And as he is his stainless son will be.
God said to me: ‘Look thou upon Luhrásp,’
And I have acted only as He bade.
Now do ye homage to him as your Sháh,
And as ye love me slight not mine advice,
For if a man transgress my parting counsel
I shall esteem his past exertions wind.
One such as that will give no praise to God,
And fear from all sides will assail his heart.”
As soon as Zál had heard these righteous words
He reached out, set his fingers to the ground,
And in the act of homage smeared his lips
With grimy dust, then hailed Luhrásp as Sháh,
And said to that world's lord: “Mayst thou be
happy.
Far from thee ever be the hand of ill.
Who save the Sháh, victorious and noble,
Knew that Luhrásp was of the royal race?
As I swore fealty my lips got smeared
With grimy dust: account it not a fault.”
The great men showered jewels on Luhrásp,
And hailed him as the Sháh. When Kai Khusrau
Had thus achieved the matter of the kingship
He thought next of the folk and told the Íránians:—
“To-morrow ye will go the selfsame path,
And I, on quitting this vile dust, will pray
To holy God that we be reunited.”
In taking leave he kissed the face of each;
The lashes of his eyes were full of tears;
He pressed each warrior closely to his breast,
And bitterly exclaimed: “Oh! would that I
Could bear this company along with me!”
A cry rose from the army of Írán:—
“The sun hath wandered from its way in heaven!”
Men, children, and the women in their bowers,
On mountain, in bázár, and midst the throng,
Were raising wails and lamentable cries,
And every quarter sorrowed for the Sháh,
While all the chieftains bent them with their heads
Upon the ground and rent their robes in grief;
The earth was in convulsion everywhere,
And all the mighty men were in amazement.
The Sháh then spake to the Íránians,
And said: “Heed, every one of you, this counsel,
All ye that are possessed of Grace and birth!
Be happy in the justice of your lord.
And now will I take order for my soul
That I may pass with honour, for my heart
Hath not been set upon this Wayside Inn:
Know that Surúsh hath come to be my guide.”
He spake and bade to bring night-hued Bihzád,
While lamentations went up from the host;
He reached the palace, overcome with woe,
His noble cypress-stature bending low.