English
Section 6
When Shapur grew tall like a cypress, he feared harm from the evil eye.
He was never apart from Ardeshir for a moment; the king was like a minister and counselor to him.
The king never spent a single day free of war; there was no place for joy or rest for him.
Whenever he cleared one region of enemies, another wrongdoer would raise his head.
He kept saying: I will ask the Creator of the world, both openly and in secret,
that I might bring the world into my hands free of enemies, so I could be nothing but joyful and devoted to God.
His blessed counselor said to him: O bright-hearted king who seeks the right path,
let us send someone to Kayd of India, a seeker of knowledge and a bringer of help.
He knows the reckoning of the lofty heavens, in matters of kingship and the paths of harm.
If the seven regions are destined to be yours without a rival, he will find it in the stars.
He will tell it all, one by one, without trouble, and will not want treasure from the king for this answer.
When Ardeshir heard this, he chose a worthy, sharp-witted young man.
He sent him to the sage in India with many horses, gold coins, and quantities of fine silk.
He told him: Go and say to the sage: O man of good fortune who seeks the path,
Look into the stars and tell me when I will find rest from war and take the land in my grasp.
If it is to happen through this power of mine, show me the way to achieve it by strategy.
And if it is not, tell me, so I take no more trouble and no longer scatter treasure this way.
The king's envoy came to Kayd with gifts and offerings.
He said what the king of kings had told him, revealing all the hidden secrets.
Kayd asked him more and grew concerned; from the questioning he turned to knowledge and a remedy.
He brought his astrolabe and read the stars, taking up a Roman astronomical table.
He looked into the workings of the high heavens: their ease and gain, their pain and harm.
He told the envoy: I have made the reckoning, both of Iran and of the king's star.
If from the line of Mehrak Nushzad this seed should mingle with that stock,
he will sit at peace upon the royal throne and need not send armies in every direction.
His treasure will grow and his suffering will lessen. So go now and weigh the feud between these two bloodlines.
If he does this, Iran will be set right for him, and he will win every wish of his heart.
He gave the envoy gifts and said: Nothing I have told you should be kept hidden.
If the lofty heavens do not turn from this course, let him honor what I have told you.
The envoy returned to the king and reported what he had heard from that renowned sage.
When Ardeshir heard his words, his heart filled with pain and his face turned pale as saffron.
He told the envoy: May it never be that I see anything survive from Mehrak's line.
Shall I bring an enemy into my house from the street, one who would seek vengeance against my land and home?
What a waste, all that scattering of my treasure, all that sending of men and my own trouble.
Only one daughter of Mehrak remains, and no one has ever seen her in Jahrom.
I will command searchers to hunt her out, from Rome and China and India and Taraz.
When I find her, I will burn her on the fire and make the earth weep and mourn over her.
He sent several riders to Jahrom, a searching man full of vengeance among them.
When Mehrak's daughter learned of this, she fled and hid in a corner of a chieftain's house.
When Mehrak's daughter settled in that village, the chieftain treated her with honor.
She grew tall like a slender cypress, wise, graceful, and radiant with charm.
She had no equal in that land; in the whole realm there was no cypress as tall as she.