V. 1442 When from the troops escorting Kai Khusrau
Luhrásp had tidings how the Sháh had fared
He sat with crown of gold upon the throne,
The heroes with their golden girdles came,
And, when the illustrious men and chief estates
Had ta'en their seats, Luhrásp looked round, arose,
Spake with good feeling and straightforwardness,
And said: “O leaders of the host! ye all
Have heard the parting counsels of the Sháh.
Whoe'er rejoiceth not at mine accession
Hath not the counsels of Khusrau in mind.
All that he said and bade me will I do,
Will strive for good, and carry out his will.
Do ye too not reject his last request,
Or keep your secret counsels hid from me.
The man is guilty in the sight of God,
That heedeth not the last requests of Sháhs,
And therefore whatsoe'er ye have in mind
Of good and ill ye must reveal to me.”
Zál answered: “Kai Khusrau gave thee the name
Of Sháh. Accepting his last words and bidding
My foot shall stray not from the limits set.
Thou art the Sháh; we are thy lieges all,
And we will not transgress thy rede and orders.
I, Rustam, and the people of Zábul,
Will never wash our hands of love to thee.
Whoe'er he be that taketh not this course
Shall find no good thing left within his reach.”
Luhrásp, when he had heard the words of Zál,
Applauded him, and then embracing him
Spake thus: “God grant that justice and the right
May never prove your loss and injury,
For He created you with this intent
That toils and ills might vanish. Kai Khusrau—

The worldlord, the beloved of time and fortune—
Ere he departed gave to you Nímrúz.
Now in addition take what else ye need.
'Tis not for me to share with you my wealth;
I and my kin and kingdom are all yours.”
Then said he to Gúdarz: “Speak out thy mind,
Whate'er it be, thou chief of paladins!”
Gúdarz made answer: “I am left alone,
For I have lost Bahrám, Bízhan, and Gív.”
Then overcome by anguish for his kin
He cried out in a lamentable voice:—
“Woe for the hero Gív of brazen form,
And that aspiring wielder of the sword
Bízhan!”

He spake and rent from head to foot

His robe of Chín and tunic made in Rúm,
And said thus to the nobles: “Blest is he
Whose mate is dust. I give assent to all
That Zál hath said, I have no secrets from him.
Thou art the Sháh, and we are all thy lieges:
We will keep fealty and do thy will.”
The chiefs with one consent called blessings down,
And bent their heads in homage to the ground,
While at their words Luhrásp, refreshed at heart,
Drew himself up and was another man.
He chose himself a most auspicious day
Whereon to set the crown upon his head,
And, just as Farídún of glorious birth
First put the crown on in the month wherein
They celebrate the hocktide of Mihrgán,
Luhrásp selected that same day and month—
The time of the Autumnal Equinox.

He had the hall of Kai Khusrau adorned,
And in his hands Írán took added lustre.
Such is the world—all ups and downs—and so
One man is glad, another is brought low;
From it are joy and grief; its How and When
And Why are all beyond our human ken.
Completed is the tale of Kai Khusrau,
The acts of Sháh Luhrásp engross us now;
His crown and court alike I celebrate,
And place him in his seat upon the state
By the triumphant grace of our great king.
The author of our hopes and fears is he,
To his well-wishers' hearts all good doth bring,
And to the ill-disposed calamity.
Hearts that have been rust-eaten by the brine
Of speech will be refurbished by old wine.
When eld hath stolen on a man good sooth!
Wine that hath waxen old will give him youth.
Faint hearts when quaffing turn to men of might,
And foxes in their cups like lions fight;
In wine too thou wilt show thy quality,
And to thine own locked door thyself be key.