English
The Capture of Afrasiab
After that, things went so badly for Afrasiab that he wandered everywhere without food or sleep.
His life felt unsafe, his body useless, always trembling with fear of harm.
He searched the world for a hiding place where he could feel safe and whole.
Near Bardaa there was a cave, high on a mountaintop untouched by the world.
No bird could fly above it, and below no lion or wild boar left a track.
He brought in food, and in fear for his life made himself a shelter high inside the cave.
It was far from every city and close to water; they call the place the Refuge of Afrasiab.
For a long while he stayed in that refuge, sorry for what he had done, his heart full of blood.
When a proud king becomes a shedder of blood, he will not sit long on the royal throne.
In those days there lived a good man, of the line of Fereydun the wise teacher.
A worshiper with royal glory and grace, ever ready to serve his king in every task.
His whole place of worship was the mountain; he had left all pleasures and kept far from the crowds.
This renowned man's name was Hom, a devout worshiper far from home and country.
On that high mountain stood a dwelling, very close to him yet far from all people.
He had built a place of worship and wore rough wool; from its opening a moan reached his ear:
'O king, renowned lord, greatest of the great, judge over the mighty and the judges themselves,
All the Turks and all China were under your command; your word reached to every corner,
now you hold only a cave in your grasp; where is your crown, where are your men of war?
Where is all that strength and manliness, the courage, the power, the wisdom?
Where is that greatness, the throne and the crown; where is your realm and all those armies,
now that you are inside this narrow cave, fleeing into a fortress of stone?'
When Hom heard this lament in Turkish, he set aside his worship and left his dwelling.
He said to himself, 'This moaning in sleep can be no one but Afrasiab.'
When the thought settled firm in his heart, he searched a while through the dark cave.
He came down from the mountain at the hour of sleep and found that refuge of Afrasiab.
He came on like a raging lion, loosening a cord from around his woolen robe.
The lasso he wore in place of a girdle, kept always under God's protection,
he carried into the refuge, took it in hand, and when he drew near he bound the man's arms.
He set off dragging him along behind, hauling him through hardship like one half dead.
It is no wonder if you are amazed at such a fate: whoever rules over the world,
should choose nothing but a good name; he must walk right and graze on goodness.
He chose one cave in all the world, and never knew that cave was a den of doom.
When Hom had bound that king by the arms, he began to lead him from his resting place.
The king said to him, 'You clever and fearless man, servant of the pure God who holds all things,
what do you want from me? Who am I in the world, sitting in this cave with my sorrows?'
Hom said, 'This is not your true home; the whole world is filled with your name.
Which king of the world killed his own brother? Who else has dared to defy the pure God?
Think of Aghriras and the famed Nozar, and Siavash, who became a memory in the world.
Do not shed the blood of the innocent, and do not hide in the depths of a bottomless cave.'
The king said, 'And who in this world do you call innocent, O man of power?
The high heaven decreed it thus: that pain and grief and harm should come from me.
No one escapes God's command, even if he could trample a watching dragon.
Have pity on me, for I am helpless, however much I have wronged myself.
I am the grandson of blessed Fereydun; I am tearing myself free from the knot of your lasso.
Where will you drag me, bound and despised? Do you not fear God on the day of reckoning?'
Hom said to him, 'You wicked, evil schemer, surely little time is left to you.
Your words are like a fresh garden of roses, but your fate lies in the hand of Kaykhosrow.'
Hom's heart twisted at that plea, and he loosened the royal lasso around him.
Knowing the pious man had taken pity on the king's lament,
Afrasiab wrenched free, pulled himself away, leapt into the sea and vanished.