Night came like vengeful Áhriman, the bells

Clanged at the gate, and Indian sword in hand
Asfandiyár bestrode his royal steed.
He with Bahman and noble Núsh Ázar
Went forth on their long journey while Jámásp,
The minister of great Gushtásp, went first
As guide. Now when these warrior-cavaliers
Had come outside the walls, and reached the plain,
Asfandiyár, the chieftain, looked toward heaven,
And said: “O Judge whose words are true! Thou art
The Maker, the Almighty, and illumest
The spirit of Asfandiyár. If I
Prevail and make the world strait for Arjásp,
Take vengeance on him for Luhrásp, the Sháh,
And for the blood of all those blameless chiefs,
My very eyes—mine eight and thirty brothers,
Whose blood hath dyed the dust upon the plain—
I swear by God, the just Judge, to forego
Revenge upon my father for my bonds,
To build a hundred Fanes of Fire, and weed
The world of tyranny. None shall behold
A carpet 'neath my feet till I have built
A hundred hostels in the wilderness.
In parched wastes that no vulture traverseth,
And where no onager and other game
Set foot, will I have dug ten thousand wells,
And plant their mouths with trees. Out of my treasure
I will bestow a hundred thousand drachms
Upon the poor and every one that asketh.
I will convert the erring to the Faith,
And will lay low the heads of sorcerers,
While in God's presence will I stand and worship;
None ever shall behold me take mine ease.”
He spake thus and urged on his battle-steed
Until he came to Farshídward, beheld him
Stretched on the dust in miserable case,
His prostrate form confounded by its wounds,
And, pouring from his eyes so many tears
As filled the wise physician with amazement,
Exclaimed: “O Lion, seeker of the fray!
From whom hath this disaster come upon thee?
On whom shall I avenge thee in the battle,
On Lion of the fray or Crocodile?”
Thus Farshídward replied: “O paladin!
It was Gushtásp that wounded me to death.
Could Turkmans, if he had not fettered thee,
Have wrought this scath and likewise overthrown
Luhrásp, the hoary-headed, and all Balkh?
None ever hath beheld or heard of ills
Such as Gurazm's words have brought upon us;
Yet murmur not, accept thy lot, and prove
A fruitful tree, for I shall pass away,
But needs must thou abide for evermore.
Remember me when I have gone, and glad
My spirit by thy bounty. So farewell,
Thou chief of paladins! For ever live,
And be of ardent soul.”

He spake and wanned;

That noble Lion, Farshídward, was gone.
Asfandiyár clutched at his own cuirass,
Marred all the painted silk, and cried: “O Lord
Supreme and holy! lead me to take vengeance
For Farshídward, to send the dust-clouds flying
From stones and water, from Arjásp to set
The blood a-stream, and give Luhrásp's soul peace.”
With heart all vengeance and with head distraught
He laid his brother's corpse upon the saddle,
Then mounted to the heights, his brother's body
Bound on the bay, and said: “What at this present
Can I achieve for thee, how raise thy charnel?

I have no gold, no silver, and no gems,
No bricks, no water, none to build a wall,
Nor any tree where I may lay thee down,
O noble chief! to slumber in the shade.”
He stripped his brother's armour off and used
His turban and his jerkin as a shround,
And thence departing came where Sháh Gushtásp
Had fared so ill. He saw Íránians slain
In numbers that concealed the dust and stones,
And bitterly bewept those hapless ones
Whose fortunes were o'erthrown. There where the
fight
Had been most fierce he saw Gurazm's pale face,
His steed o'erthrown beside him where he lay
O'erstrewn with dust, and thus Asfandiyár
Addressed the slain: “O fool and of ill fortune!
Mark what a wise man of Írán once said,
When giving utterance to his secret thoughts:—
‘A foe that's wise is better than a friend
Albeit in both their wisdom we commend,
For wise men think within their powers nor fret
Their souls by seeking what they ne'er can get.’
Thou soughtest my position in Írán,
And broughtest this destruction on the world.
Thou hast deprived this kingdom of its lustre,
Hast practised artifice and uttered lies,
And all the blood poured out in this contention
Will be upon thee in the other world.”
He turned his head, still weeping, from the waste,
And came upon the main of Turkman troops.
He saw the host extending seven leagues,
And such that heaven was aghast thereat.
A trench had been constructed round about,
More than an arrow's flight in width. This ditch
He managed with a hundred shifts to cross,
And reined his steed toward the level ground.
The Turkman outpost of some eighty men
Were on their rounds about the battlefield.
They came upon him with disordered ranks,
Came challenging and shouting, and inquired:—
“O lion-man! what seekest thou by night
Upon the battlefield?”

He answered them:—

“All that ye care for on the battlefield
Are sleep and feast. When tidings reached Kuhram:—
‘Asfandiyár hath made his passage through you,’
He said to me: ‘Take thy sharp scimitar,
And bring the Day of Doom upon their souls.’”
Then, mindful of the battle with Gushtásp,
He drew his scimitar and laid about him,
O'erthrew full many of them on the road,
And thence departed toward the Sháh's abode.