English
Rustam and Human Before the Battle
He rushed into his tent like the wind and set a different helmet on his head.
He chose a new banner and a new horse, a different suit of armor and a different shield.
He rode out, and when he drew near Rustam, he paused to take in his powerful shoulders and towering frame.
He spoke to Rustam: 'You famous one, master of the lasso, brave and battle-hardened rider,
I swear by God, I would give up throne and crown, for I have never seen a warrior who craves combat as you do.
In all this great army, apart from you I see no mighty champion of renown.
A brave man who seeks battle again and again stirs up dust from the very heart of a lion.
Tell me of your city, your lineage, and your home, of your bloodline and your name.
In the whole Iranian army I have seen no one but you with the heart for the field of war.
I feel a fondness for a man of battle, especially one with the nature of a leopard.
Now, if you would tell me your name, your land, your people, and your home,
you would do me a favor that empties my heart of its worry.'
Rustam answered him: 'All these words you have spoken, laying a foundation of affection,
why won't you tell me your own name, your land, your country, your home?
Why have you come to me with such softness, sweet talk, and endless words?
If you are seeking peace, you are trying to lessen this feud.
Consider who spilled the blood of Siyavash, who kindled such a fire of vengeance against us,
and the precious blood of the House of Gudarz, which piled loss upon loss.
The nobles who stood with Siyavash never sought a fight; they held their peace.
Look through the army of Turan and find those guilty of an innocent man's blood.
The men and the well-outfitted horses that Siyavash brought from Iran with his treasure,
if you send them all back to us, I will have no need to fight the Turks.
After that you will all be my well-wishers, wholly bound to my ways and my path.
I will lay aside vengeance and seek no more battle; I will not bring proud heads down into the dust.
Then I will tell all this to Kay Khosrow and wash his heart and mind clean of pain and spite.
Now I will name the guilty for you, men whose names and desires deserve to be gone.
The vengeance began first with Garsivaz, who brought this heartache and torment to Iran.
And whomever you know of that blind, cursed stock, who needlessly muddied these clear waters,
Gorui Zereh and all born of him, a bloodline that should never have existed,
for the wrong done to Siyavash came from them; he was the key that opened this door of evil.'
The one who wrecked the heart and mind of Afrasiyab, who spilled his blood like water.
And another who had no quarrel with any Iranian, yet became the pivot of this feud.
The nobles who spring from the seed of Visa are two faced, treacherous with everyone.
Men like Human, Lahhak, and Farshidvard, like Kalbad and that brazen Nastihan.
If you carry out what I have said, and put an end to seeking vengeance,
I will shut the door of war upon your land; you will not need to wear armor on your body.
But if you speak in any other way, I will revive the fight and the old blood feud.
For I am one hardened by the wars of Turan; I am a famed warrior out of Iran.
I have severed many a head from its body, heads whose only shroud was the jaws of lions.
You have tested me on this field of battle; this is my custom, this is my way.
I have never spoken in such a tone before; I have sought nothing but vengeance, root and branch.
Now heed everything I have told you; take these good words to your heart.
When Human heard this he was gripped with fear; he trembled like a leaf on a tree.
For hearing Rustam speak in that manner, he saw his whole clan marked for ruin.
Human answered him this way: 'O lionhearted, battle seeking man,
With such strength and such stature and height, the throne of Iran would suit you as your seat.
You can be nothing less than a great champion, or a mighty hero out of Iran.
You asked me about my lineage and name; but your true wish, I feel, lies elsewhere.
My name, brave one, is Kuh-Gush; my father is Vasapas, a man like a lion.
I came here from Vahr with this army, a whole host I led to this battlefield.
I keep asking for your name so that I may make your purpose known in the world.
Now if you tell me your name, I will go back to my rest with a glad heart.
Everything you said on this battlefield I will repeat, point by point, before the army,
and likewise before Manshur and the Khaqan of China, the nobles and heroes of the land of Turan.'
Rustam said to him: 'Do not seek my name; whatever you have seen of me, tell them.
My heart burns for Piran; my soul kindles with love for him.
His liver is wounded over the blood of Siyavash; among the Turks he alone is noble and calm.
Send him to me at once, in haste; let us see what fate will bring.'
Human said to him: 'O proud one, so you feel the need to see Piran.
What do you know of Piran and Kalbad, of Goruy-e Zereh and Pulad?'
He told him: why twist your words so much?
Don't try to send the stream uphill.
Don't you see that the whole battle of this army
rests on him alone, and from him this fight has come?
Human rushed off at once,
his face pale, breathing hard as he arrived.
He said to Piran: my fortunate lord,
a hard misfortune has fallen on us from this affair.
For this lion-hearted man is Rustam of Zabol,
and now we must weep for this army.
For never can stand against him in battle
the leopard on land or the crocodile in the sea.
I spoke and heard many answers back;
he recalled the wrongs done by everyone.
First, brother, he named my name,
and recounted much about the blood of Siyavush.
He recalled much of what has passed,
of Piran and the champions of the Vise line.
Of Bahram and of the whole clan of Gudarz,
of everyone who suffered harm at their hands.
I saw no affection in him for anyone but you;
he spoke a great deal, but his face never softened.
Now, from this army, it is you he wants;
I don't know what he has set in his heart.
Go and look at him, spear in hand,
as though he sits perched upon a mountain.
In armor and helmet and tiger-skin coat,
and beneath him a raging, monstrous elephant.
You will see I sought no lie in this;
his blade catches fire and blazes with light.
Until he sees you, he will not stir from his place;
for your sake he has stayed there, standing ready.
When you meet him, speak gently to him;
don't draw your blade, don't show him your defiance.
Piran said to him: my warrior friend,
I fear an evil day is drawing near.
If indeed this sword-wielder is Rustam,
then this plain is a place of mourning for us.
He will burn our land and home in fire;
I don't know what our ill-starred fate has done.
He went before the Khaqan, his eyes full of tears,
his liver wounded, his heart full of pain and rage.
He said: my king, do not be rash,
for now this matter has taken a different turn.
When the champion Kamus met his end,
at that very moment my heart suspected
that this man of iron is Rustam,
whose rawhide lasso coils in fold upon fold.
Even if Afrasiab came now like a flood,
they would see nothing but the dread of him in their dreams.
The very demons grow weary of fighting him;
whether one man against him or a whole plain of men, it's the same.
For a long time he was a great lord in Zabolestan;
back then he was the guardian of Siyavush.
Like a father he wages war with grief,
and makes the world too narrow for any ruler.
I will go and see what he wants,
for grief keeps wearing my soul away.
The Khaqan said to him: go to him,
and speak gently, as you must.
If he wants peace and a settlement, then why should this plain endure the suffering of an army?
Accept plenty of gifts and turn back; it is fitting that we not seek all this battle.
But if beneath his leopard-skin armor his mind is still set on war,
then let us all wage war together and press the field of battle tight against him.
Let us all turn our backs to God for support, and by His strength fight like lions.
His body is not made of iron, nor his face of steel; he is nothing but blood and flesh and hair.
He does not fight up in the sky, so why let your heart burn with grief and pain?
Know this: though he can withstand stone and iron, still the arrow and the javelin will pierce him.
For every one of their men we have three hundred; on this battlefield it is their turn to suffer.
This same famous man from Zabol is no more than a single elephant in the hour of war.
I will put on such an elephant's display against him that afterward he will not dare face battle again.