Bahram at the Palace

From that plain the hero Bahram looked out, and a splendid palace came into view. Bahram turned his face toward that palace, with the wild ass leading the way ahead. He rode his horse up to the palace, while Izad Goshasb followed at his back. He handed him the swift horse's reins and said: 'May wisdom always be your companion.' On foot, through the palace corridor, Bahram walked in without any guide. For a while Izad Goshasb stood at the door, holding that precious horse by the hand. Yalan Sineh came running after him, girded and ready on his swift horse. The bold Izad Goshasb said to him: 'You, gifted and renowned as a lion, go and see where our commander went, our famous heroic general.' Yalan Sineh turned his face into the palace, his heart full of worry, searching for the chief. He saw a blessed arch and hall, the like of which he had never seen or heard of in Iran. In its hall stood a throne of gold, with a gem set into every step. Upon that throne was a carpet of Roman brocade, all its patterns of jewels and gold ground. A crowned woman sat upon it, tall as a cypress, her face like spring. On the golden throne, at a lower seat, the army's commander sat. Many attendants stood around the throne, fairy-faced beauties of shining fortune. When the woman saw Yalan Sineh, she said to an attendant: 'You, lovely one, go quickly and tell that lion-heart that there is no place for you to come here. Stay close to your own companions; Bahram will come back to you right now. Deliver this message to him from Bahram, and ease his heart into turning back.' At once she sent the attendants on their way out from the hall toward the army, so they might take the heroes' horses to the stable, fill the mangers and count every saddle. The gardener opened the garden gate by her command, to prepare the host's welcome. A man devoted to serving the great came into the garden, prayer-sticks and rites in hand. They set a table around the garden, and prepared more food than could be imagined. When the meal was done, they brought the proud men's horses at a trot back to their marked place. As Bahram turned to leave, he said to the woman: 'May the planet Jupiter be a companion to your crown.' She said to him: 'Be victorious, man; keep a patient heart and sound judgment.' When Bahram came out from that palace, you would think blood rained from his eyes. His spirit was transformed, his answers changed; you would think he raised his head up to the Pleiades. He came right on the trail of the wild ass, the commander driving his chestnut horse close behind. So it went until they came out of that thicket, the creature all the while serving as Bahram's guide. The hunting ground led into a city, and at that sight he opened his lips to speak to the troops. Khorrad Borzin looked at him and said, 'O chief, tell me the truth:' 'What was this wonder on the hunting ground, something no one has ever seen or heard of?' The commander gave him no answer at all; grim of mood, he turned his face toward the palace. The next day, when the meadow turned silver and that yellow, gleaming lamp of dawn appeared, he spread out a carpet of Chinese brocade; you would have said the sky had become the earth. Throughout the palace he set golden thrones and placed cushions of gold-woven silk. They set down a golden dais, and the army's commander took his seat upon it. He arranged a royal seat like a king of kings, placing the crown of majesty on his head. The great scribe watched what he was doing and understood that he had grown bold and haughty. When he came near Khorrad Borzin, he told all that he knew, saw, and heard. When Khorrad Borzin heard these words, he knew those old troubles had come alive again. Then he said to the esteemed scribe, 'Do not take a matter like this lightly.' 'You must not open your lips about this affair; we must go to the king in the dark of night.' When Bahram's heart filled with thoughts of the crown, and the ivory throne rose beneath him, they weighed every kind of plan in the matter, and the only remedy proved to be flight. When they settled on the color of escape, in the dark night they fled from Balkh. When the commander learned of their doing, of the bright, wakeful souls that had slipped away, he told Yalan Sineh, with a hundred riders, 'Ride after these two reckless fools.' He set off from there swift as dust, with him the brave men of the day of battle. He rode on until he reached the great scribe, and flew into a rage like a wolf. He seized from him all that he had, and turned him back from the road in heavy chains. He brought him along the road to Bahram, so as to destroy an innocent man. Bahram said to him, 'You demon-schemer, why did you leave my presence without permission?' He answered thus: 'O commander, it was Khorrad Borzin who unsettled me.' 'He kept saying there was no staying here, that your lingering served nothing but the slanderer's wish.' 'For me and for you there was the fear of death; our only hope was to turn back from here.' When they had brought the army's commander to Bahram, his dignity was shamed within that court. Bahram said to him: this could happen; one must weigh both the good and the bad. He returned all the losses the man had suffered, and gave him much more from his own treasure. Then he told him: guard your own affairs carefully, and never again take flight. From this side, Khorrad-Borzin rode in secret, galloping toward the king of the world. He told him everything that had to be told, and unlocked all the hidden secrets. So, point by point, he recounted to the king all that had happened in that woodland and meadow. The chase of the wild ass, the narrow trail, Bahram's lingering, and all that delay. The palace inlaid with jewels, the attendants, and the crowned woman. One by one he told what he had seen, and everything else he had asked about. The crowned king was left astonished; whatever he heard, he took to heart. When the priest's words came back to his mind, a cold sigh rose from within his chest. And also the words of that fortune teller, who had said Bahram would turn his face from your throne. At once the king summoned the chief priest and seated him in Khorrad-Borzin's place. The king said to Khorrad-Borzin: open your lips and tell me what you saw on the road. At Hormoz's command he began to speak, recalling every detail one by one. The king said to him: what could this mean? Every possible reading must be considered. A wild ass in the woodland served as a guide, and a dwelling stood in the barren wasteland. On a golden throne sat a crowned figure, with royal servants standing before her. This tale is like a dream, the sort that is read from the words of the ancients. The priest said to the king of the world: that wild ass was secretly a demon. Since it lured Bahram away from the true path, a flaw appeared in his heart. Know that palace to be a den of sorcery, and on that throne an ungrateful witch. who displayed such grandeur to Bahram, and showed him that crown and throne of greatness. When he turned away, he grew proud and drunk with it; know that such power will never truly fall into his hands. Now devise some plan to bring that army from Balkh back toward this court. The king came to regret the two spindles, that cotton and the worthless cloth. Not much time had passed before a rider came from the commander. He carried a basket full of daggers, each with its blade turned point upward. He brought it and set it down before the king, and the king kept staring at the iron. He ordered the blades to be broken and thrown into that worthless basket. He sent word back to Bahram again, long speeches full of war and challenge. He cut the matter cleanly in two and set it aside; the man, his mind turned sour, fell deep into thought. He sent for the Iranians and called them, seating them all around that basket. He said: this is the king's gift; look at it, and do not treat it lightly. The army fell into thought over the king's deed, and over what that army's chief had said. For one day our king's gift was a spindle and that embroidered gown. Another time it was a broken dagger, worse than any wound or insult. May such a king never sit upon the throne, nor anyone who would even remember him. And if Bahram son of Goshasp should set his horse's hoof on that court's ground, may neither Bahram's marrow nor his skin remain, nor that cheap coin that Bahram springs from. When the commander heard their words, he saw the army's heart wounded by the crowned one. Then the chief spoke to the army: be watchful, and keep your minds clear. For Khorrad Borzin laid our hidden words bare before the king. Now, each of you, find a way to save your lives; all of you, make a pact with me today. Perhaps I will send someone from the army out on the road, so they may keep watch over us. Otherwise, consider my day already turned dark, and count the whole army, man by man, as slain. He said this, then took up another plan; watch now, and you will stay amazed. He scattered riders across the land, hoping the king's letter might come. So it would reach the Iranians and they could put an end to strife and enmity. A stretch of time passed like this too, but no one delivered the king's letter. After that he summoned the nobles and shared many secrets with them. There was Hamdan Goshasp and the great scribe, and Yalan Sineh, that mighty renowned man. There was Bahram the hero of Siyavash's line, and Peyda Goshasp, wise and generous. He took counsel with such great men, who were lions, warriors all. Then the army's chief spoke to that host that had lost its swift path. He said: proud and renowned men, everyone stands in need of you. Our king has been wounded by us though guiltless, and so he has turned away from custom and the right path. What will you devise, and what is the cure for this? We must not have to weep over the wounded man. Whoever hides his pain from the doctor pours bloody tears down from his lashes. If we hide our secret from those who know, the task will drag on long and hard for us. Now we are the wounded ones of this world; let us tell all our secrets, in full, to one who understands. We came out from Iran seeking vengeance, with this modest army, by the king's command. No one will ever see a greater army, however long the world endures. If Parmuda the warrior, together with King Saveh, had marched their host toward Iran, Iran would not have been worth a single ball of wax; and after that they had their sights set on Rome. Such a fate befell Parmuda and King Saveh as no one in the world has ever seen for its strangeness. Though we endured much hardship, afterward we were left with neither elephant nor treasure. Anew the king laid up a treasure; he grew rich, and the army fell into turmoil. Now how do we find a way out of his snare, so we may slip our heads free of the bonds with ease? The king of kings has arranged his schemes and settled this matter without effort or trouble to himself. Each of you, find a way to save your own life; with this affliction, decide what cure to seek. I have emptied my heart of secrets; out of grief I am tearing myself away from life. Behind the veil of the famed champion there was a sister, bright of soul. The wise woman's name was Gordiyeh; she was Bahram's comfort and his closest confidante. When she heard her brother's words from behind the veil, she flared up and her heart boiled with resentment. She entered that gathering, her head full of speech, her tongue full of the old, wise sayings. When the brother heard his sister's voice, he fell silent, ceasing his talk and his replies. Likewise the Iranians, one and all, held back their words for fear of harm. Then Gordiyeh spoke to the army: 'O renowned men, seekers of the right way, why have you fallen silent, keeping your words in? Why have you poured out blood from your hearts like this? You are the chiefs of Iran, its warriors, wise and knowing and cunning in strategy. What do you all foresee in this affair? What move will you make on this field of blood?' Then Izad Goshasp the rider said: 'O keepsake of noble ancestors, even if our tongues became swords, they would flee before the sea of your wisdom. All your deeds are divine, born of courage, of knowledge, and of good sense. We should not adopt the temper of a leopard, ready to pick a fight with everyone we meet. Seek no further word from me on this; my answer in this matter has reached its end. If you choose war, we will lend our aid; before the horsemen we will ride as horsemen. So long as the champion is pleased with me, I feel as if I will stay forever young.' When Bahram heard his words, he saw that his conduct was that of a mediator. Then he turned to Yalan Sineh and said: what thoughts are you keeping hidden now? Yalan Sineh said: brave commander, whoever walks the path of God, when he wins victory and divine glory, he never rushes toward evil, for then the blessing turns into a curse, and the turning wheel of fate fills with spite against him. Since God gave you glory and fortune, an entire army, a treasury, a crown and a throne, if you seek yet more from Him, your heart will bleed with ingratitude. After that Bahram said to Bahram: you who are the companion of wisdom, wedded to good judgment, what do you say? Is chasing this throne and treasure worth the greatness in the end, or is it only pain and toil? Bahram laughed at that debate, and then he tossed a ring into the air. He said: for as long as this ring hangs in the air, a servant becomes a king. He told him: do not think this is any small matter, for a crown cannot be counted a trifle. Then he spoke this way to Pida Goshasb: you swordsman, lion who spurs his horse into battle, what do you see, what do you say about this affair of ours? Is the seat of kingship fitting for us? The horseman Pida Goshasb answered: you who are a living memory of the world's great heroes, a certain priest once told this parable: any man who was wise and far-sighted, if he rules as king for even one moment and then his soul flies up to heaven, that is better than serving as a slave for long years, carrying his needs to the treasury of the world's lord. Then he said to the great scribe: open your lips now, you old wolf. The great scribe fell silent for a while and sank into a crowd of thoughts. Then he spoke to Bahram this way: whoever goes seeking his desire, if he seeks what suits him, he will find it, for the hand of time is long and reaching. Know this: whatever the just one grants, effort must still be brought to bear to earn it. Then he spoke again to Hamdan Goshasb: you who have known the ups and downs of life, whatever words you speak to another's face turn to wind, and the deeds behind them come to nothing. Say what you know about this matter, of the good and the bad within these times. The lofty Hamdan Goshasb said: you who are honored among noble men, you fear what has not yet come to pass; why do you keep asking about the crowns of kings? Do your work and leave what is done to God. Why reach for the date if you fear the thorn? The leader of men will find no easy comfort; it is all peril to his life and hardship to his body. At their words the hero's sister sat there writhing, her spirit darkened. No one spoke a word about that dispute, from the setting of the sun until midnight. Bahram said to her: 'You of pure soul, what do you make of what this gathering has said?' Gordiyeh gave him no answer, for she was not pleased by the counsel of those nobles. She spoke this way to the great scribe: 'You schemer of evil, cunning as an old wolf, you imagine that this crown and throne mean a great army and a triumphant fortune. None of those noble, free spirited men ever longed for such things in this world. If you think kingship is easier than servitude, you should weep over such wisdom of yours. Let us follow the way of the kings of old, and listen to the words of those greater than us.' The scribe answered her: 'If my counsel finds no place with you, then say and do whatever seems right to you; go the way your heart guides you.' His sister too spoke to Bahram about those willful, self serving riders: 'This knowledge and counsel of yours is not good; your feet are walking a crooked path. Often the king's throne sat empty, yet no lesser man ever cast a glance at it. They guarded the world with bravery, but fixed no covetous eye upon the throne. Every wise man of pure mind who turned over all kinds of fine thoughts knows that kingship is better than servitude, and that pride is better than being cast down. Yet those Kayanid heroes did not reach out for the throne; all wore the belt of service tight at their waists. They bound themselves and sought only good from their kings, and made their hearts ready to obey his command. No stranger was worthy of the crown; only one of true lineage deserved such greatness. Let me start first with King Kavus, who tried to search out the very path of God, who counted the stars in the sky and thought he could break through the arch of the turning heavens. In the end he fell into misery, humiliation, and disgrace, all from his crooked thinking and ill nature.'