Naushervan said to him, “Then, why do you not propose someone yourself?” Bakhtak replied, “In my humble opinion, there is no better match than Aulad bin Marzaban.”
Most satisfied with Bakhtak’s counsel, the emperor informed Empress Mehr-Angez of the proposition. As no one in the female quarters of the royal palace yet knew the news of Hamza’s death, it brought Empress Mehr-Angez great distress to hear it, and she strictly forbade anyone from conveying the news to the ears of Princess Mehr-Nigar. But the news soon circulated and reached Mehr-Nigar, who was struck with such violent pains of grief that her woe and sorrow and fury were the cause of great anxiety for all of them. Empress Mehr-Angez herself went and offered her many words of consolation, but the princess paid no heed.
Finding herself helpless in this matter, the empress informed Naushervan of their daughter’s state, who said to Buzurjmehr, “Go to the princess and bring her around to the prospect of marrying Aulad bin Marzaban!” Then Buzurjmehr took Mehr-Nigar aside, and said to her, “O Princess! Amir is safe in all ways, and is secure and unharmed by the grace of God! However, Amir did undergo great physical suffering after being poisoned by Gustham. You shall see him on the fortieth day from today. In the meanwhile, reasons of expediency dictate that you accept Aulad bin Marzaban’s suit. But make him pledge that until forty days have passed Aulad must not present himself before you or be admitted in hours of seclusion.” At Buzurjmehr’s counsel, the princess agreed to the proposition.
The following day Naushervan conferred the robe of son-in-law on Aulad bin Marzaban before the whole assembly, and told him that the nuptials would be celebrated forty days hence. Bakhtak said to Aulad, “This delay does not bode well for your plans, as news has reached here that Hamza is alive and well and headed for Ctesiphon! If he were to arrive here during this period, it would unravel the whole scheme. I suggest that tomorrow you should declare to the emperor that you wish to celebrate the nuptials in Zabul, and that by the time the princess’s procession reaches Zabul, the forty days will have elapsed, and your kith and kin will be afforded an opportunity to participate in the celebrations.”
The next day Aulad made his plea before Naushervan, and Bakhtak also petitioned on his behalf. The emperor consented and ordered the dowry and all such preparations to be made ready.
The emperor sent Mehr-Nigar off with great pomp and ceremony, and himself accompanied the procession for a day.
Aulad made progress toward Zabul happily and joyously, but at Mehr-Nigar’s instructions, his pavilion was always pitched three leagues away from her own, and her tent was guarded by twelve thousand slaves. When thirty-nine days had passed, the princess knew that the day of her meeting with Amir had come.
Aulad ordered his camp to be set up at a picturesque hillside and said, “Tomorrow we shall remain camped here, as it is also the day when my promise to the princess will be fulfilled. We shall celebrate the nuptials at this very spot!”
Mehr-Nigar had resolved in her heart that the moment Aulad entered her pavilion, she would kill herself and put an end to her life.
OF AULAD BIN MARZABAN BEING TAKEN CAPTIVE, AND A GRIEF-STRICKEN AND REMORSE-BITTEN AULAD BEING SENT AS PRISONER TO NAUSHERVAN AT AMIR HAMZA’S ORDERS
Regard this marvel of the work of the Gatherer of the Separated that a new flower blossomed in the wild. The nightingale of the pen thus chirps that the Almighty God ordained that the Sahibqiran would arrive in that neighborhood the same day, and he, too, set up his camp on the acclivity of that hillside.
Hakim Aqlimun said to Amar, “Go to the pasture with your hunting gear, and bring me a deer! The smell of the roast will serve to invigorate Amir’s heart, and the two of us will do it justice thereafter.” Immediately upon hearing Aqlimun’s words, Amar took his lasso and sling, and set forth. He caught a stag near a hill. Amar then tied his legs and buried him under a rock and climbed up the hill to enjoy the scenery.
Amar beheld a pavilion by the rivulet that bordered on the royal encampment. Two men, who for all appearances seemed to be waiting on someone, were standing by the rivulet, holding in their hands a ewer and basin made of gold and silver. Amar hung one of his arms loose and, swinging it from side to side, he approached them, limping with one foot, and addressed them in a most sweet and affable manner thus: “My friends, whose camp is this, and who are you, and what are your particulars?”
They replied, “This is the encampment of Princess Mehr-Nigar, the daughter of the Emperor of the Seven Climes. We are her slaves.”
They gave Amar a complete account of Mehr-Nigar’s hardships and said, “Today the fortieth day will come to a close, and if the Sahibqiran should arrive by this evening, the princess will live; otherwise, tomorrow, the moment Aulad steps up to the threshold of her pavilion, she will swallow the dose of deadly poison in her possession!”
Amar replied, “Sirs, have faith in the Provident God! It is not beyond His power to send the Sahibqiran here this very day, and grant the princess’s desire despite all odds! I only have this to ask of you: My arm and leg are paralyzed, and a hakim had told me that if I were to wash my arm and leg with a ewer and basin made of gold and silver, my limbs would become well again. It appears I have some days of happy life remaining to my lot to have come upon such kindly folk as yourselves, who have the possession of such utensils. If you were to lend them to me for a moment, I shall wash my arm and leg before your eyes with the water of this rivulet.”
These men took pity on Amar, and handed the ewer and the basin to him.
After washing his limbs and pretending to have recovered, Amar leapt away from them, and said, “I may have regained the use of my limbs, but if the ailment were to relapse, who would lend me this ewer and basin?” And with these words Amar fled toward Aulad bin Marzaban’s camp. Realizing that it would be futile to try to catch him, the two men did not give chase.
Amar reached Aulad’s encampment, where he made his way disguised as a geomancer. Mehr-Nigar’s attendants decided they, too, should solicit his help in tracing the thief. With that intent they drew near to see him at work, and observed that the geomancer would most miraculously relate the secret of a man’s heart. They asked him to tell them what might have occurred to them. The geomancer said, “It appears that you have lost some utensils made of gold and silver!” Now the two attendants became convinced that the geomancer was entirely genuine, and one of them stayed behind and the other went to the princess’s pavilion to inform her.
The princess reasoned that nobody but Amar could display the cheek to steal her goods so close to her encampment, and then make his way out, dodging thousands of guards. It would be little wonder, she thought, if the geomancer, too, was Amar in disguise. Immediately she sent out a train of messengers and mace bearers to have the geomancer conducted into her presence. After arranging for privacy, she had him seated by the curtain and said, “O geomancer, pray narrate to me the secrets that I hide in my bosom and give an account of my grief-stricken heart!” Amar replied, “Your ladyship should know that I am not initiated in the art of recounting the secrets in people’s hearts without examining their aspects, as I never learned the art of divining secrets from behind a curtain!”
The princess had the curtain lifted from between them, and showed her face to Amar who held out the dice to Princess Mehr-Nigar, and said, “Take these dice and throw them over the charts. Then I will interpret them and narrate the secrets of your heart.”
After she had thrown the dice, Amar narrated the whole story of her love from its beginning up to that moment, and told her that she would receive tidings of Hamza’s arrival that very day. Then deducing that this was indeed Amar, Mehr-Nigar reached out and pulled at his false beard, which came off in her hands to reveal Amar’s face. Unable to contain herself any longer, the princess fell crying at Amar’s neck, and with tears coursing down her cheeks in a flood, she asked him, “Tell me verily where Amir is now. Amar replied, “This very morning Amir set up camp on the slope of this hill. By the grace of God he i
s alive and out of danger, but he is foundering in the depths of the sea of grief and sorrow because of his separation from you.”
Just at that moment messengers arrived to announce that Aulad had requisitioned the geomancer to ascertain the proper hour and moment for the nuptials. Amar said to Mehr-Nigar, “My ladyship may now breathe easily, and not fall prey to any worries. Observe what terrible calamities I shall now visit on Aulad’s head in lieu of the bliss he anticipates!” With these words, Amar took his leave.
Then Amar went before Aulad and beheld a Gueber67 stripling seated on a bejeweled throne, covered from head to foot with gold and jewels, with all the paraphernalia for the nuptials strewn about him. Aulad asked Amar, “Why did the princess send for you?” Amar replied, “She inquired of me regarding one who is deceased, and lamented his loss a great deal. I told her that the man was dead and departed, but that she had great happiness in store in a marriage with Aulad bin Marzaban. At first she would hear nothing of it but she softened after I advised and counseled her, and thus made her reconciled to her lot.”
Upon hearing these words Aulad began to grin from ear to ear, and conferred a costly robe of honor on Amar, and asked him, “When should I celebrate the nuptials and consummate my troth with that moonfaced beauty?” Amar replied, “Arrange it at your earliest pleasure!” Aulad was even more delighted by this reply and further conferred a purse of red gold on Amar.
Amar visited blessings on Aulad, and said to him, “This humble servant of yours has four sons. One of them indulges himself with plying the mace, another excels in the art of cudgeling, my third son is a great drummer, and the fourth is a legendary master of the hautbois. It would afford you the greatest pleasure, and delight you no end if you were to see a display of their talents!” Aulad replied, “Come morning, send your sons into my presence.”
Amar took his leave and, having reached the hillside, got rid of his disguise and brought the deer to Hakim Aqlimun, who slaughtered it and had Hamza smell the roast to invigorate his spirits. From there Amar headed straight for Landhoor’s pavilion. On the way he met Muqbil, whom he asked to come posthaste to Landhoor’s pavilion and bring Aadi with him. Once they were assembled Amar counseled with them and took them into his confidence regarding his plans.
When the master of the sky stood at the framework of the vaults of the heavens wielding the cudgel of the sun’s beam, Amar hung a big drum from Aadi’s neck, furnished Muqbil with a hautbois, and asking Landhoor to take along his mace, and with Amar himself dressed as a fair youth sporting a cudgel, the four arrived at the threshold of Aulad’s pavilion.
Aulad sent for them and ordered them to display their talents in his court. Amar produced eleven brass cudgels from his bag of trickery, and plied them so dexterously that the whole assembly sat entranced and praised his talent to the skies. Muqbil on the hautbois and Aadi with the drum also delighted the company, and they as well received robes of satin and many other gifts and rewards besides. When Landhoor began to swing his mace around, it caused such powerful blasts of air that the onlookers started to be blown to the ground from their seats and thrones, and they shouted from all corners “Stop!” and “Enough!”
Then Amar gestured to Landhoor, who swung his mace and brought it down on the supports of the pavilion whereupon Aulad was buried inside with all his courtiers. Then they turned to attack his army, and a battle ensued. Landhoor raised the mace over his head and bellowed, “Anyone who does not know, learn that I am Landhoor bin Saadan, the Khusrau of India!”
Upon hearing Landhoor’s war cry his twelve thousand warriors, who had lain waiting in their positions, fell upon Aulad’s army with drawn swords. Ten thousand men from Aulad’s host died in the battle, another ten thousand were taken prisoner, while five thousand escaped with their lives.
Now we turn to Aadi, to whom it suddenly occurred in the midst of the battle that food must have been cooked in great abundance in Aulad’s camp that day and the finest delicacies would have been prepared to celebrate the nuptials. And this thought convinced Aadi that he ought to break into the pantry and gorge on and gobble up all that he could lay his hands on, and so he headed for the kitchen with that intent. On his way Aadi noticed a man crawling out from under Aulad’s pavilion. Aadi squashed him with his drum, which caused the drum’s skin to rupture and the man to be transported inside it. Aadi quickly secured the drum’s mouth tightly, and barged into the kitchen. And it was indeed the case that food had been prepared there in great plenty, and Aadi helped himself to whatever took his fancy without the least anxiety of having to share it with anyone.
Amar searched for Aulad high and low, but could find no trace of him. Looking for Aulad among the slain, Amar happened by the kitchen and saw Aadi sitting before a great pile of delicacies, bolting them down like there would be no tomorrow. Casting an angry glance at him, Amar addressed him thus: “O drum-bellied one! In Hamza’s camp you give yourself the airs of a great champion, but when the time comes for skirmishing, you shirk your duty and hide in this nook to nurse your gluttonous gut!” Aadi replied, “I have taken a man prisoner, and that justifies my freedom to have my meal!” Amar said, “I would like to be blessed by the sight of him!” Aadi replied: “He is trapped inside the drum. Go and take a look at him, and leave me to have my food in peace!” Stealing a glimpse of the captive, Amar said to Aadi, “This one man alone is worth a hundred thousand prisoners! Indeed, O Aadi, you accomplished a great deed, and acquitted yourself most honorably!”
Thus speaking Amar had Aadi carry the drum to Landhoor, and put it before him with great fanfare and triumph. Then Amar said to him, “O Khusrau! I have brought you a veritable bird of paradise, and solicit your munificent indulgence!” Landhoor replied, “Show me whom you have caught.” The moment Aadi opened the drum’s mouth, Aulad emerged from it with a drawn dagger, and came charging at Landhoor, who wrested the dagger from Aulad’s hand and slammed him against the floor. Amar tied him up like a skein of yarn with his lasso, and took these glad tidings to the princess. From there he went to Hamza and narrated from the beginning to the end all that had come to pass. Hamza embraced Amar, and then said to Landhoor, “Indeed our prestige and honor are now one! Who would come to the defense of my honor if not you yourself!”
It was decided that Sultan Bakht Maghrebi would escort Princess Mehr-Nigar back to Ctesiphon, and Aulad would be sent back in chains to the emperor. Hamza then wrote a missive to the Emperor of the Seven Climes, which read:
Your humble servant had taken himself to Ceylon as per Your Excellency’s orders. I prevailed over King Landhoor and Almighty God preserved my name and honor. I am bringing Landhoor along and shall soon present him before Your Highness, the Shadow of God.
In the meantime, my enemies had circulated the rumors of my death, and propagated this falsehood far and wide. Your Honor believed it to be true and pledged Princess Mehr-Nigar to Aulad bin Marzaban at the instigation of shallow and perfidious counselors. Your Majesty did not pause even for a moment to show the least sympathy for my cause, nor attempted to research the veracity of these rumors. On my way back from battle Aulad and I crossed paths, and I am now sending him as a prisoner to Your Honor. What passed has been recompensed now, and Your Highness may deal with him as you see fit.
I am also sending back Princess Mehr-Nigar, who shall be kept there in trust for me. God willing, I shall soon present myself and celebrate my nuptials with her and put paid to the mischief of all seditionists and calumniators!
Mehr-Nigar then sent for Amar, and said to him, “I made all preparations and arranged for festivities, but Amir did not once send for me and has ordered that I be forthwith dispatched to Ctesiphon! What great crime is mine that I am no longer worthy of showing my face before him?” Amar went to Hamza and told him that Mehr-Nigar had sent this message from the depths of grief and sorrow. Amir said, “You see that the poison has disfigured me, and my body has been stripped of all its glory! It is not my desire to present myself before the princess in this reduc
ed state. God willing, I shall be restored to my natural looks and health by the time I arrive in Ctesiphon. Then the True God, the Gatherer of the Separated, will arrange for us to meet in happiness! Go and gently advise the princess that she must not take offense at this arrangement nor give herself to any anguish.”
Hakim Aqlimun said to Amar, “Khvaja, since you are headed for Ctesiphon, pray bring some noshidaru68 with you. But do not ask for it in Hamza’s name because then you will be denied it!”
Then Amar took his leave of Hamza and went before Mehr-Nigar and delicately advised her and offered her consolation. He then had her carried in a litter toward Ctesiphon. In a few days the princess’s litter arrived in Ctesiphon, and Naushervan came out to receive her and escorted her into the palace. He conferred a robe of honor on Sultan Bakht Maghrebi, and expressed great delight upon receiving news of Hamza’s well-being.
Now hear of Amar, who dressed himself as a peasant and went and moved the chain of justice, whereupon the emperor sent for him, and asked him what it was that he sought. Amar took two farthings from his pocket and, putting them on Naushervan’s throne, said, “Your Honor, I require two farthings’ worth of noshidaru, as my son was bitten by a snake, and the village doctor said that he would make him well if I were to bring him three mithcals of noshidaru from Ctesiphon. I have been to the butcher, the grocer, the spice merchant, and the greengrocer, but none of them know of it. A man I met on the way told me today that I would find it at the emperor’s court, so I present myself before Your Highness, and throw myself at the feet of my Lord. Take this money and give me a three mithcals’ measure of noshidaru, but if it is even a grain short of three mithcals, it will not serve the purpose! I will have the full three mithcals’ measure, or I will not pay!”69
The Adventures of Amir Hamza Page 21