The sage, upon returning to his home,
Arranged a board and compasses before him,
Selecting first of all a darkened room
To make his wits more keen, then mused on chess
And Indian subtlety, and mustering all
His powers made wisdom wed his ardent heart,
And meditating thus invented nard.
He bade to make two dice of ivory
With dots the colour of teak-wood thereon,
Arrayed a field of battle as in chess,
And drew up the opposing hosts for war,
Arranging them in eight battalions,
All ready for pitch-battles or for sieges.
The ground was dark, the battlefield foursquare,
Two noble, clement kings were in command,
Who had a common movement on the field,
But neither sought the other's injury.
The troops arrayed beneath their leadership
For battle on both sides were keen for fight.
If two friends catch an unsupported foe,
The twain inflict defeat upon the one.
He made the two kings move about the field
In pomp surrounded by their several hosts,
Each wheeling round about upon the other,
And combating by turns on hill and plain.
On this wise till one side was overthrown
The armies of both monarchs kept the field.
'Twas thus that Búzurjmihr, as I have said,
Invented nard, then went and told the Sháh
How from the moves of those imperious kings
Came praise or blame, what powers the pieces had,
And how the armies fought; these he set forth,
And showed in detail to the Sháh whose heart
Was all astound; he needed all his wits,
And said: “O man of ardent soul! mayst thou,
And may thy fortune, still continue young.”
He bade the keeper of the camels bring
Two thousand to him and then loaded them
With contributions raised from Rúm and Chín,
The Haitálians, from Makrán, and from Írán,
And from the treasury of the king of kings.
The caravan departed from the court.
Whenas the camel-loads were all arranged,
And that concern was off the monarch's heart,
He called the Rája's envoy unto him,
And of his knowledge uttered many words.
He wrote a letter to the Rája full
Of learning, pleasantry, good sense, and counsel,
And in the first place gave great praise to God,
Who was his refuge from the lusty Dív,
Then “Rája, high renowned, of Hind,” he said,
“Down from the river of Kannúj*

to Sind!
Thy wise ambassador hath come to us
With parasols, with elephants, and escort,
With tribute and with chess, and I have heard
The Rája's embassage. The task is done.
We asked the Indian sage for time, we decked
Our soul with knowledge, and an archimage,
A very prudent sage of holy rede,
Hath sought and found out how the game is played.
Now that wise archimage hath come before
The exalted Rája at Kannúj and brought
Two thousand heavy camel-loads of things*

Acceptable—a keepsake for thyself—
And we have substituted nard for chess.
What man now will adventure on this game?
There must be many a Brahman well advised,
Who by his learning can discover it.
The Rája may consign to treasury
The riches that have been the envoy's care,
But if the Rája and his counsellors
Shall try to find out nard, and fail therein,
He must according to our covenant
Load up as many camels as we sent,
And send them back with ours and all their loads;
Such is our pact and bargain.”

Búzurjmihr,

What time the sun was radiant in the sky,
Departed from the portal of the Sháh
With baggage,*

letter, and the game of nard,
His heart absorbed by thoughts of his campaign.
On coming to the Rája from Írán,
The Brahman acting willingly as guide,
He went before the Rája's throne, beheld
His head, his fortunes, and his diadem,
Praised him no little in the olden tongue,
Then gave the royal letter, and repeated
The verbal message of the king of kings.
The Indian Rája's face bloomed like a rose.
The message spake of chess, the Rája's pains,
His tribute, how the game of chess had fared,
The play, the pieces, and the king's right moves,
And those moreover of his counsellors.
It told withal the achievement of the sage,
Who had invented nard in rivalry,
And ended thus: “Now let the Rája read
The letter, act, and swerve not from the right.”
The Rája's face grew pallid at the words,
On hearing that account of chess and nard.
There came a great official and assigned
A fitting lodging to the ambassador.
They had a jocund residence prepared,
And called for wine and harp and minstrelsy.

The Rája asked a space of seven days,
And all the Lights of learning came to him.
He gathered all the elders of the realm,
And laid the game of nard before them there.
For one whole se'nnight all the shrewdest men
Among the nobles, whether old or young,
Sought to discover out of emulation,
For fame and triumph, how the game was played;
But to the Rája at the se'nnight's end
A sage said: “No one can make aught thereof,
And wisdom must be wedded to his soul,
Who from these pieces can invent a game.”
The Rája's heart was troubled at those sages,
His soul was sorrowful, his brow contracted.
Upon the ninth day Búzurjmihr arrived,
With eager heart and furrowed face, and said:—
“The Sháh accorded me no tarriance here,
And he must not be straitened in his heart.”
The learnéd magnates went aside and owned
Their ignorance, while Búzurjmihr, on hearing,
Sat down, and all the sages gave good heed
While he set out the board of nard before them,
And told the movements of the various pieces,
Displayed the leader and his warlike troops,
The king's power and the order of the fight.
The Rája and his counsellors were all
Astound, the company in wonderment,
At Búzurjmihr, the chiefs all lauded him,
And hailed him as a holy sage. The Rája
Interrogated him upon all lore,
And he in each case gave a fit response.
Then from the sages, from the searchers out
Of knowledge, and the scholars rose a cry:—
“Behold an eloquent and learnéd man,
Not merely skilled in games like chess and nard!”
The Rája had two thousand camels brought,
And laid on them the tribute of Kannúj,
Gold, camphor, ambergris, and aloe-wood,
As well as raiment, silver, pearls, and gems,
With one year's tribute, and dispatched it all
From his court to the portal of the Sháh.
The Rája had a coronet and robe,
That reached from head to foot, of his own wear
Brought from his treasury and then bestowed them
On Búzurjmihr, gave him much praise withal,
And to his retinue abundant gifts.
So from Kannúj departed Búzurjmihr
With head exalted to the turning sky,
With those two thousand camels brought by him,
And all the gifts and tribute in his charge.
No one had looked on such a caravan
Before, and never had been greater wealth.
He joyed at heart as bearing from the king
Of Hind a script in Indian characters
On silk: “The Rája and his mighty men
Attest for good will, not for fear, that none
Hath looked on any like Sháh Núshírwán,
Or ever heard of one such from the priests,
Or met one wiser than his minister,
The treasurer of whose knowledge is the sky.
The tribute for the year was sent before,
And more shall be if thou demandest it,
While in the matter of the games the stakes
Have been sent likewise as agreed upon.”
Now when the Sháh gat tidings of his sage:—
“He hath arrived well satisfied and glad,”
He was rejoiced at that intelligence,
And bade the chiefs of city and of host,
With elephants and kettledrums and tymbals,
To sally forth to welcome Búzurjmihr.
That honoured sage's entry of the city
Resembled that of some great conquering king,
And when that man of lore approached the throne,
And proffered praise exceedingly, the Sháh,
Lord of the world, embraced him and inquired
About the Rája and the weary way,
While Búzurjmihr told his experiences,
His sleepless fortune and the love of heaven,
Then brought the conquering Rája's letter forth,
And laid it down before the throne. The Sháh
Then gave command for Yazdagird, the scribe,
To come before the knowledge-seeking king,
And when he read the Rája's letter all
The company were in astonishment
Both at the wit and rede of Búzurjmihr,
And at the fortune of his sun-faced Sháh,
Who spake on this wise, saying: “God be praised
That I have such a wise and holy sage.
The great are servants of my crown and throne,
And love of me hath filled their hearts and minds.”
Thanks to the Lord of sun and moon, for He
Bestoweth victory and mastery,
That which I next shall utter will appear
A tale more strange than that of Búzurjmihr,
Whom heaven with such intelligence did bless:
I tell the legend of Talhand and chess.