Happiness again showed her face to us;
The player of the musical instrument (the administrator of
the empire) played the instrument (the gift of verse).
The representing of the matter (the tale of Sikandar)
reached (to this point) by the assisting (of the king);
The orator (Nizámí) attained hopefulness (as to concluding
the Sikandar-Nama).
O narrator! Make keen the brain;
Represent (to the end) this charming history.
The player of the instrument may signify—Firdausí, who has in the Sháh-Náma given in detail an account of the Kháḳán of Chín; or the kind friend (Khizr, as indicated by the words sa'ádat, happiness, and báz, again) who had previously instructed Niámí.
The second line will then be:—
(a) The player of the instrument (the kind friend, Khizr) played the instrument (of kindness).
(b) The player of the instrument (the grace of God) played the instrument (of my capacity).
Couplet 2 will then be:—
3The representing of the matter (the tale of Sikandar) reached (to this point) by the great friend (Khizr);
To a hopeful one (Niámí, expectant of his arrival) he (Khizr) speech-uttering arrived.
Either Nașratu-d-Dín or Khizr utters this couplet.
Possibly Niámí addresses himself.
The valiant world-possessor (Sikandar), auspicious in
contest,
—Give tidings—what did he to King Fúr of Fúrán?
The representer (Nizámí) of the word corresponding to
the state of this tale
Displays the picture (the tale) from (behind) the screen in
such a way,
That—when the king became free from the work of
(subduing) Kaid,
He sometimes expressed an opinion; sometimes meditated
on hunting:
Moved the army for the plunder of Fúr;
Put him altogether far from victory over himself
(Sikandar).
When the king drew forth the sword from the scabbard,
The head of the enemy came to the snare (of captivity).
He gave all his country and property to plunder;
Gave the crown of his own sword to his head (severed his
head).
When the (head of the) enemy was fallen beneath his foot,
His place was given to another.
And for journeying thence he exalted the standard;
For that dust (region) suited not his wind-fleet steeds.
There are three things, which in three rest (dwelling)-places
Are all three of little age and become destroyed:—
In Hindústán, the horse; in Persia, the elephant;
In Chín, the cat,—thus the proof appears.
The second line may be:—
Like these (the horse and elephant), the cat in Chín displays proof (of degeneracy).
When the world-possessor saw that that water and soil
(Kannauj)
Would bring forth the destruction of the horses, the
gallopers,
He went from Hindústán to the Tibat-land (musk-
From Tibat he entered the boundaries of Chín.
When his diadem reached to the height of Tibat,
All his army began to laugh.
He asked, saying:—“For what is this laughter
“In a place (the world) where it is proper to weep for
ourselves?”
They declared, saying:—“This soil, saffron-like,
“Makes man laughterful without cause.”
At that Paradise-like city the king was amazed,
Saying:—“Involuntarily, how produces it laughter?”
With difficulty, over waterless land and river-bed full of
water, that road
He brought, stage by stage, to an end.
Beheld the path (of Tibat) dry (void) of the blood of
leapers (animals of the chase);
Beheld all the plain full of musk (dropped from the musky
deer).
When he saw the deer of the plain, musk-possessing,
He ordered that none should hunt the deer (so that the
musk should not be lost).
From couplet 24 “the place” may mean—a place waterless, desolate, and with a difficult road.
18 Tibat stands for Kashmír, a Paradise-like place, in which saffron, joy-
No one had hunted there.
22Musk is said to be dried blood that of itself falls from the bladder of the deer. When they take out the musk, after hunting the deer, it gives, by reason of its wetness, no agreeable perfume.
In every place where the army used to hold the road-
He used to take up musk in ass-loads.
When he travelled awhile in the plain of Chín,
From the desolate plain he came to cultivation.
Appeared a grazing-place like heaven,
That through joyfulness raised its head to heaven:
In that pasture-place, every day and night,
A pleasant fountain, running.
The air pleasant, and the forests vast;
The trees fruit-producing, and the branches green:
Rain-water flowing on the verdure water-drunk (succulent),
Like mercury on the face of lapis lazuli (green grasses):
The grasses newly sprung, full of rain-drops,
Like pearls studded on the verdant bough:
The foot-print of the deer set up by the fountain,
Like musk sprinkled on the (garment of) belly-skin:
The (black) hoof of the wild ass, place-scratched on the
verdure,
Like musky (black) lines on the green brocade:
A country in which was no blackness;
Or if there were, it was only the back of the fish.
If “Panj-gam” be read, the first line will be:—
30In that pasture-place, at every five paces.
Fine garments (soft like water) are made of the belly-skins of certain animals; on these skins they sprinkle musk.
If az be omitted, the first line will be:—
32The pool set up by (the imprint of) the foot of the deer.
The back of a fish may signify—dark night bespangled with stars
When Sikandar beheld that prosperous land,
He became free from desire for Hindústán.
In the water and pasture of that halting-place,
He ordered them to let loose the beasts of burden.
One week, he obtained a share of joyousness;
(And) reposed with the warriors of the time:
The next week, he sought a suitable day,
On which the omen of the conquest (of Chín) came
truly.
He ordered so that they played the drum,
And hastened from that halting-place towards Chín.
When the drum-striker became angry with the drum,
He brought forth a lament from water and dust.
When the mirror of Chín (the sun) appeared,
Sikandar led his army towards Chín.
Sate on Arab steeds of quick intelligence, they (the
warriors);
All in khaftáns of rich silk (rough, like the sheep's fleece)
steel-clad.
like the glittering scales of a fish; or a dark earth that rises in meadows (either mole or worm-hills) said to be like a cock's comb; or a black flower.
The second line may mean:—
39The land was watered with many running streams full of fish.
“Áyína,e chíní” here signifies—the sun; but properly—a mirror used by people of contorted face.
40The first line may be:—
They of quick intelligence sate on Arab steeds.
The air was without pollution (wind-raised), the road
without the thorn;
And if there were,—it was the thorn of the honey-
From (eating) the sweet grasses of the mountain and
pass,
The fawn considered the milk (of its dam) sugar.
When the king passed by that hunting-place (in Chín),
With the dust of that hunting-ground he became per-
Every deer that was born with the mark of love for him
(or for the land),—
Its navel, from musk-dragging, had fallen (on the
earth).
The deer that held its face on the dust (in respect) for
him,—
In its eyes, the world expected the antidote.
The world-seeker went like the roaring lion;
The leaper, the hunting lion, beneath him!
The second line may mean—there was abundance of the thorn, by eating which the bee makes excellent honey.
43Otherwise—the dust of that soil became perfumed with the musk carried by the army. See couplet 23.
44The first couplet may be:—
45Every deer (beast of burden, musk-carrying) that was born with the mark (of service) to him (Sikandar),
Its navel, from dragging (the great load of) musk, had fallen (from the belly).
The deer (the beast of burden, antidote-bearing) that kept its face in the dust in respect for him,—
In its eyes, the world expected the antidote (of tears, flowing by reason of the great load on its back).
The tears of the deer (or of the ox) are called—tiriyák-i-akbar, the great antidote; and the foam of the mouth of the deer is called— tiriyák-i-aṣghar, the less antidote.
In the desert of Chín, game-overthrowing,
He made void the land of the wild ass and the deer.
The silk (garment) of the earth beneath the steed's hoof
Became the silk, pictured with ass-eyes from the many eyes
of the (slain) asses.
By his forked arrow, side-cleaving,
Many a deer cast the musk from its navel (fell).
The hide of the deer, buttocks to head,
Became like the gold-mine with the gold arrow.
The king's bow—ambush made,
A deer cast down with every arrow—
With the painting of the notch of the willow-arrow
Made void of colour the plain of Chín.
For hunting wild beasts in that hunting-place,
The king passed a day until the night.
When the soldier of the citadel (the sun of the sky, or
day) fell from his work (of displaying effulgence),
The bride of the world (the sun) fell into her citadel (of
night).
Through desire of him (the sun),—the night, like a Hindú
woman (a sorceress),
Went round about every street black barley-grain (sorcery)-
It is wrong to read:—
52Of many a deer the musk-bladder was (cut) from the navel.
Through the painting of the notch of the willow-arrow (that has the order of the painter's reed),—the king's bow (the painter) made void the plain of Chín (full of colour like the shell). Because, by excess of painting, the shell loses the colour it had.
The first line may be:—
With the pricking of the point of the willow-arrow.
The monarch alighted from his steed,
Verily, his army also all at once:
And exercised judgment as to the place of ease;
Not a bird moved from its place till the day.
When the lady of Yaghmá (the morning sun), with the
anklet of gold (effulgent rays),
Appeared from the pavilion of Khallakh (the eastern sky),
The world, like the Hindú in smoke (darkness)-vomiting
(sorcery-evoking),
Became through the splendour (of the morning sun) like
Yaghmá and Khallakh.
From the monarch's drum sound issued;
Tumult fell upon Yaghmá and Khallakh (far though they
are).
The king, world-drawer (to himself), sphere-traveller,
Made his abode one month in that soil (of Chín).
They fixed the tether-ropes; set up the stables;
Scattered forage in the stables full of fresh grass.
The news went to the Khákán that the plain and the
mountain
Were harassed with the hoofs (of the steeds) of those
steel-clad.
Had entered from the Irán land—a torrent,
That leaves neither Chín nor the Khákán of Chín:
Yaghmá and Khallakh are two towns in Turkistán, where the women, who are very lovely, live in ease and splendour.
The sun is circular, so is the anklet.
60The second line may be:—
65In plunder and rapine tumult occurred.
A torrent (an army), a hastener, which over mountain and
plain
Will surpass the former deluge (of Noah).
Its hail (the sword, the arrow, and the spear) makes the
earth (scattered and perforated) like the Pleiades,
And destroys the crocodiles of the river (of Chín).
A black dragon (Sikandar)—that in any land
Came not, like that fierce lion from Rúm.
The people of Ethiopia,—the mark of his command is on
their face;
Of the people of Zang,—the black-wearing (in mourning)
is through the far-spread cry (of his bravery).
He caused rapine to reach Dárá;
Took the crown from the kings of Hind (Kaid and Fúr).
When he became free from the ravaging of the people of
Fúr (of Kannauj),
He bound his loins in haste against the sons of Faghfúr.
The hail of that cloud (the army) makes the earth like the Pleiades— either because it gives the earth to the wind and causes it to reach the Pleiades; or because it makes holes in the soil, through which light appears, and thus the earth becomes like the Pleiades.
Otherwise:—
67Its hail (the rush of the army) makes the earth (Chín) the Pleiades (or casts it on the hump of Taurus),
And (by drinking up the water) destroys the crocodiles of the river.
Otherwise:—
A black dragon (Sikandar's steel-clad army), that in any land,—
A fierce lion like him (Sikandar) from Rúm came not—(which land, they ravaged not).
The second line may be:—
70Came not,—a fierce lion like that from Rúm.
“Faghfúr” (faghpúr) is derived from:—
(a) Fagh (fugh), an idol, and fúr (púr), a son. Because the parents, in order to have a son, have offered to idols.
(b) Fugh, a handsome youth, and fúr, a city.
If that deep river (Sikandar) should come from its place,—
In that case, the mountain would have no standing.
The Khákán feared and expressed an opinion of fear;
—For of such an enemy is room for fear.—
To every lord of the marches, he wrote a line with blood
(humbly asking aid),
Saying:—“(The enemy) has kneaded dust with blood in
our land.”
From the King of Khatáy to the King of Khutan
He sent, and arrayed the assembly (of vazírs and the troops
of Khatáy and Khutan).
The soldiers of Sinjáb and of Farghána;
Other wise land-possessors;
From Kharkhiz, and from Chách, and from Káshghar,
He summoned many warriors of golden girdle.
When the massing of the army was ready,
The heart and soul of the Khákán became tranquil.
He brought his foot to (mounted) the mountain, the mover
(the steed)
He moved, like a steel mountain, from his place.
Since the cities of Chín are full of handsome youths, they call the city (and hence the king) Faghfúr. Then Fúr signifies—primarily, the name of a town; secondarily, the name of a king.
For a description of the battle-field of Alexander and Porus, see the
Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1848, vol. xvii. part ii. p. 619;
an article by Sir W. Napier in the “London and Westminster Review,”
1838; and “The Geography of Northern India,” by Gen. Cunning-
The second line may be:—
75Saying:—In our land dust is mixed with blood.
Farghána (Furghána) is in Transoxiana.
Kharkhez, musk-producing, is in Turkistán; its people are very handsome.
“Káshghar” may be written—kázhghar, káchghar.
78His steel-clad army was in amplitude like the mountain of steel.
Two stages, less or more, near to the king,
He fastened up the picketing-ropes and pitched his camp:
Night and day, used to fear the monarch,
Saying:—“What night-play (stratagem) will he (Sikandar)
use with him?”
He secretly went and sought out the spy,
That he (the spy) might truly unfold his (Sikandar's)
state.
That man, secretly investigating, gave to him the news,
Saying:—“He is a king possessed of majesty and of
splendour:
“Possesses excellence, and munificence, and manliness;
“Is an angel in human form,
“Wise and deliberate, and keen of sense;
“In secret, speaking; in the assembly, silent:
“Expresses breath with weight and gravity;
“Strives not with haste for anyone's blood:
“From him,—loss to tyranny; profit to justice;
“With him,—God satisfied; the people pleased:
“Of a person, he brings not to mind (aught) save goodness;
“At a person's grief, he becomes not joyful.
“I saw—neither anyone who gained superiority over him;
“Nor a manly one who died not from fear of him:
“Perhaps his arrow is from the quiver of Árash,
“That with his arrow-point the hard stone is bescratched.
For firishta, read suroshe, called hátif-i-ghaib.
46See canto xxxi. couplet 79 and xxix.
90“When he seizes the sword he is like lightning (the
consumer);
“When he takes wine in the palm (of the hand) he
becomes treasure-giver.
“When he brings the ready money of speech into proof,
“He brings all the brain (essence) of philosophy into use:
“He hears (regards) no speech which is not true;
“Takes not languidly that accepted (approved) by him.
“In every place the splendour-exciter of work,
“Save in the bed-chamber and save in the hunting-field
(which are left undecorated).
“In hunting he has no delay;
“He becomes patient (he deliberates) when the time of
battle arrives.
“By his knowledge and justice,—the world secure:
“He, king after king, generation after generation.
“In the plain (of battle) he is the chief of monarchs;
“(Even) in intoxication he is better than the sages.
“When a strange fancy comes to him he laughs;
“When he makes a joke his fragrant perfume issues.
“Great is his patience, and little his speech;
“Straight in the time of straightness, like the cypress.
“Punishes when he is revenge-taking;
“Pardons at the time when he gains a victory.
What he accepts he turns not from.
93Sikandar spent little in decorating his bed-chamber or in stocking his hunting-ground.
94Sikandar deliberated because, in haste to battle, the guiltless enemy may be slain with the guilty enemy.
97The first line may be:—
100When he laughs his form appears strange.
“In speech his lip expresses the wave of the deluge (is
terrible);
“Expresses every opinion with philosophers.
“He does deeds with the deliberation of old men;
“Takes young men to battles:
“Takes refuge with God, in season and out of season;
“—The protection of God falls not to the bad man.—
“When he draws the noble cypress (his body) into the
saddle,
“On a steed that, as regards the wind, casts the elephant
(subdues the wind),
“God forbid that his steed should display restiveness!
“Though it be the lion, he would make it bloody of hide
(with punishment).
“He circles (his steed) in rear and front (of the warriors)
like the snake;
“Strikes fire left and right, like the (uplifted) spark.
“Kings who had the diadem-mark
“Possessed the world through army-leaders.
“Save him, there is no sword-striker in his army;
“O excellent army-arrayer and army-shatterer!
“Not of every blood-devourer (tyrant)—thinks he;
“But of the weak and helpless:
“Casts widely the carpet of his court (gives access to all;
repels not the petitioner);
“Laughs within limit when he finds joy.
When the píl (the castle) comes against the asp (the knight), the latter is restrained from motion. See canto xxx. couplet 23.
Otherwise—On a steed that overpowers the wind.
On a steed that casts the elephant of the wind.
“Pil afgandan” signifies—to overpower.
110“Looks—for honour to himself—at none;
“But if he glance, he favours him much.
“His treasury is for the giving of jewels;
“His stable is for the giving of steeds.
“If a person give gold to those asking;
“He gives city and territory in lieu of gold.
“The purpose which his heart brings into reckoning,
“Time in a little while grants him.”
When the Khákán obtained news of that wisdom,
He trembled at that divine grandeur.
His heart became soft towards peace with the Khusrau;
His desire of beholding him became ardent.
He closed the road against the thought of battle;
He sought a pretext for peace with the king.
To the world-king they took up the tale,
Saying:—“The soldiers of Chín have raised the standard
(of war).”
The monarch expressed a proverb, saying:—“The raw
game
“That comes on its own feet to the snare,—best.
“If he display opposition with me,—
“He displays not manliness but simpleness:
“Make the path easy for me and you;
“(And) make the long road (hence to Chín) short for us.
“I will bring a contraction upon his straitened (grief-
“That over him the hard stone in Chín will weep.”
The second line may be:—
He displays not manliness but recklessness.
In the early dawn, when from the azure sphere
The sun caused blessing to reach the king (the sphere-
He summoned the secretary of Mercury nature (lofty in
the art of writing),
Who knows how to scatter Venus (magic words) on
Jupiter (white paper):
He desired a document adorned,
More resplendent than the undiminished moon;
In the framing (of the letter) speech prepared in two
halves;
One half of hope and the other of fear.
The secretary, the penman, took up the pen;
He first entered upon words of praise.
“Sapída damán” belongs to the class—șahar-gáhán; șubh-gáhán; nau-bahárán; bám-dádán.
123“Dánad” should probably be—tánad, contracted from tawánad.