Then Rustam buckled on his Rúman mail,
With prayers for succour and support to Him,
Who is the Lord of sun and moon, and said:—
“Oh! may the eyes of evil men be blinded,
And may I have the strength to save Bízhan.”
At his command the warriors girt themselves
With girdles of revenge, put on their steeds
The poplar saddles, and prepared for combat;
Then matchless Rustam led them toward the fire.
When he approached the boulder of Akwán,
Approached that pit of sorrow, smart, and anguish,
“Dismount,” he told the seven warriors,
“And strive to clear the pit's mouth of the stone.”
They strove in vain and sorely galled their hands.
Now while their sweat ran, for the stone stood still,
The lion-chief alighted, hitched his skirt
Of mail beneath his belt and, asking strength
From God its source, grasped, raised, and hurled the
boulder
Back to the forest of the land of Chín:
Earth shook thereat. Then asked he of Bízhan
With lamentable cries: “How camest thou
To such a luckless plight? Thy portion here
Was wont to be all sweetness; why hast thou
Received then from the world a cup of poison?”
Bízhan replied: “How fared the paladin
Upon the way? Thy greeting reached mine ear,
And this world's poison was made sweet to me.
V. 1125
Such as thou seest is my dwelling-place,
Mine earth is iron and my heaven stone,
While through exceeding anguish, hardship, sorrow,
And toil I have renounced this Wayside Inn.”
Said Rustam: “God had pity on thy life,
And now, O man wise and magnanimous!
There is one thing that I desire of thee:
Grant pardon to Gurgín son of Mílád
For my sake, putting from thee hate and malice.”
He answered: “O my friend! how shouldst thou
know
What conflicts have been mine? And know'st thou not,
O noble lion-man! that which Gurgín
Hath done to me? If I behold him ever
My vengeance shall bring Doomsday down on him.”
“If thou show'st malice and wilt not attend
To what I say,” said Rustam, “I will leave thee
Bound in the pit, and mount, and hie me home.”
When Rustam's answer reached the captive's ear
A wail went up from that strait prison-house
As he replied: “The wretchedest am I
Of warriors, of my kindred, and my people!
I must put up to-day too with the wrong—
The great wrong—which Gurgín hath done to me!
Yea I will do so and will be content;
My heart shall rest from taking vengeance on him.”
Then Rustam let his lasso down the pit,
And drew up thus Bízhan with fettered feet,
With naked body, with long hair and nails,
And wasted by affliction, pain, and want,
His form blood-boltered, and his visage wan
By reason of those bonds and rusty fetters.
Now Rustam cried aloud when he beheld
Bízhan with body hidden by the iron,
And putting forth his hands he snapped the chains
And bonds, and freed Bízhan from ring and fetter.
They went toward Rustam's house; on one side of him
Bízhan rode, on the other side Manízha.
V. 1126
The youthful pair sat in their sorry plight,
And told their story to the paladin.
Then Rustam bade them bathe the young man's head,
And clothed him in new robes. When afterward
Gurgín approached and, prone upon the dust,
Sought to excuse his evil deeds, and writhed
For words so ill-advised, Bízhan condoned
The matter. Then they loaded up the camels,
And put the saddles on the steeds, while Rustam
Assumed his favourite mail and mounted Rakhsh.
The warriors drew forth their scimitars
And massive maces, sent the baggage on,
And dight themselves for strife. Ashkash the shrewd—
The army's Ear—went with the baggage-train.
Then matchless Rustam bade Bízhan: “Away,
And journey with Manízha and Ashkash,
For in my vengeance on Afrásiyáb
To-night I shall not eat, repose, or sleep.
Now will I do such exploits at his gate
That on the morn his troops shall laugh at him.
Thou hast endured enough with bonds and pit,
And shouldst not share the fight.”