بخش 29
Prose Version
When fortune turned harsh, Goshtāsp retreated and sought refuge with his host upon a mountain—grassy, with a spring and a mill, and a single path around it known to the king. Arjāsp arrived with his army but found no road; they ringed the mountain on four sides, kindled fires and burned brush upon the rock, slaughtered steeds, and hearts fell into despair. The gentle king clasped his head and summoned world‑wise Jāmāsp to speak of the stars’ turning. Jāmāsp said that deliverance lies in freeing Esfandiyār: once unbound, this mountain‑bond will not hold. Goshtāsp confessed in truth that he had bound the guiltless prince at the banquet by the counsel of ill‑wishers and repented at once; should Esfandiyār come to the field, he will grant him crown, throne, and cap. He then sent Jāmāsp with a message of many greetings to cross the river by night, without a guide, and tell the prince: ‘He who dealt injustice has left this world; and if I acted on the word of the ignorant, I repent of my deed. Return with a heart cleansed of rancor, cast the enemies’ heads into dust, and the Kayanian tree will not be uprooted; and when you come, I will surrender to you all crown and treasure.’ Jāmāsp donned a Tūzi robe, set a two‑plumed cap upon his head, mounted a Turkic horse and girded himself in the Turanian fashion; he sped like the wind, speaking in the Turkish tongue so none would know him; by night he passed through the host, reached the royal youth, then came to the domed fortress and freed himself from the hands of the wicked.