OF THE NOTORIOUS KHVAJA AMAR, THE PRINCE OF AYYARS, AND OF THE PRINCES HURMUZ AND FARAMURZ
Artful storytellers and crafty narrators thus record the account of these men: When the fort of Nestan also ran out of provisions, Quful Nestani told Amar of the well-fortified and impregnable castle Rahtas Gadh, which was jointly ruled by Tahmuras Shah and Sabir Shah.
Amar said to Muqbil Vafadar, “Be watchful of our fort’s defenses while I think of some scheme to capture the fort of Rahtas Gadh.” Amar changed from his royal robe to the ayyar’s attire and, sporting his weapons, set out from his fort. In a few hours, he arrived at Rahtas Gadh. However, despite making several rounds of the fortifications, he saw no means to gain entrance. Amar fooled a grass cutter and rendered him unconscious by appearing before him in the guise of a saintly man. Then Amar managed to enter the fort, and took up residence in the grass cutter’s guise.
After one half of the night had passed, he donned his night livery and entered Tahmuras Shah’s palace. He saw Tahmuras Shah lying asleep on a bed of lapis lazuli. When Amar lifted the fold of a shawl to uncover Tahmuras Shah’s face, the man caught Amar’s hand. Amar usually wore a greased glove for such occasions and pulled out his hand. Tahmuras Shah said to him, “Khvaja Amar, pray have no fear! Just now Prophet Ibrahim appeared to me in the realm of dreams to convert me to the True Faith and gave me tidings of all the efforts you have made and news of your arrival.”
Finally Amar drew near again, and Tahmuras Shah embraced him and promised Amar every help. He invited Amar to move Mehr-Nigar and his army to Rahtas Gadh.
Amar returned happily to his fort and with his army in train, headed out by way of a tunnel in the direction of the fort of Rahtas Gadh.
Meanwhile, news of Tahmuras Shah’s conversion to the True Faith spread by word of mouth. Upon learning of this from his vizier Shamim, Sabit Shah, Rahtas Gadh’s co-ruler, murdered Tahmuras Shah. Then Sabit Shah went together with Shamim to the gates of the fort to await Amar’s arrival and murder him, too.
Oblivious to these machinations, when Amar and his companions approached the walls of the fort they were targeted by soldiers in the battlements, and Sabit Shah called out to him, “O cameleer’s son! Tahmuras Shah fell to your tricks and paid for it with his life. Be warned that you will receive your just deserts if you take a single step forward.”
Amar was troubled by this trick played on him by the contemptible heavens. He said to himself that if Hurmuz and Faramurz were to follow him, all his months of hardships would come to naught.
The following day Sabit Shah sent a letter to Hurmuz by Mehtar Sayyad who was the chief of Tahmuras Shah’s ayyars. As Mehtar Sayyad had secretly mourned his master’s murder by Sabit Shah, he brought the letter to Amar instead. Amar was greatly pleased and returned with Mehtar Sayyad in the disguise of Katara Kabuli, the commander of the princes’ ayyars. He told Sabit Shah that the princes had ordered him to guard the garrison himself until they arrived with their armies.
When night fell Amar murdered the other guard and flung open the fort’s gates, admitting his army. He hanged Sabit Shah and his vizier Shamim and installed Mehtar Sayyad as the king of the castle. When the princes learned of Amar’s ayyari, they took the real Katara Kabuli to task for not performing his ayyar’s duties as Amar Ayyar had done. After being rebuked, Katara Kabuli sneaked into Rahtas Gadh, made Amar Ayyar unconscious, and kidnapped him. When Amar was produced before the princes, they ordered that he be put to death without delay.
OF NAQABDAR NARANJI-POSH’S AYYAR SECURING AMAR’S RELEASE FROM HIS CAPTIVITY
The narrator states that the executioner took Amar along, seated him on a sand platform, and approached him after drawing his sword. Seeing his death approach, Amar Ayyar prayed for divine help. Then Naqabdar Naranji-Posh’s ayyar presented himself before the princes disguised as a messenger and helped Amar escape.
Although Amar escaped with his life, his fort ran out of rations. Amar Ayyar then learned of the fort of Salasal Hisar, which was ruled by Salasal Shah. Amar used cunning and disguise to gain control over Salasal Hisar. He was also helped by Mansoor Ayyar, who was in the employ of Salasal Shah. Afterward, when Salasal Shah and his son Bahman refused to convert to the True Faith, Amar had them killed and installed Mansoor Ayyar as the ruler of the fort.
Hurmuz was most upset upon receiving this intelligence and sent a message to the emperor, detailing their circumstances, the story of Amar escaping to Salasal Shah’s fort, and the many factors responsible for the ayyar’s success.
OF THE RETURN JOURNEY OF THE LORD OF THE AUSPICIOUS PLANETARY CONJUNCTION FROM THE LANDS OF QAF TO THE CONFINES OF EARTH
It has been narrated thus far that after slaying Kharpal and Kharchal, Amir spent another six months in Qaf at the pleading of Emperor Shahpal. One night he was lying with Aasman Peri when Mehr-Nigar appeared in his dreams looking gaunt and withered. As she cried bitter tears, she accosted him thus: “O Abul-Ala, indeed I must be culpable of some terrible sin, that you find it fit to burn me in the fire of separation while you yourself take pleasure in the company of peris. I suffer a hundred thousand bitter woes that the heavens do not release me from this horrible existence.”
Amir cried out in his sleep and became inconsolable with anguish. Upon hearing Amir’s cries, Aasman Peri woke up and asked, “What terrible grief has gripped your heart that you make such heartrending complaints?” Amir replied, “I feel so weary and downtrodden that I wish to end my life with my own hands.” Aasman Peri said, “Pray tell me about your sad state of affairs, and share this with me.” Amir answered, “O Aasman Peri, I implore you to send me back to the realm of men. Just now I saw Mehr-Nigar in my dream, who appeared in a most wretched state brought on by the pain and agony of separation from me.”
Aasman Peri asked, “How is Mehr-Nigar related to you?” Amir replied, “She is my beloved and the daughter of Naushervan. There is none who surpasses her in beauty, and she is in love with this wretch who has lost his heart to her.” Upon hearing this, Aasman Peri said, “So why didn’t you plainly admit to me that there was someone from the race of humans whom you love? Listen, O Amir, and speak the truth to me: Is she more beautiful than I?” Amir could not hold back his words, and said, “You cannot be compared with Mehr-Nigar; you cannot even hold a candle to the charm of her maids.”
Turning crimson with rage upon hearing these words, Aasman Peri said, “O Hamza, woe to you that you put me below her maids and prefer them over me! I swear that for as long as I live you will never find your way back to the world of humans!” As Amir Hamza was already eaten by frustration, he replied, “I will find my way there all the same! And if you become an obstacle, then I shall have to travel upon your dead body.” Aasman Peri said, “O Sahibqiran! Do not let the facts that you are the Lord of the Auspicious Planetary Conjunction, the progeny of Prophet Ibrahim, and superior to the race of jinns cause you to entertain any illusions about me. If you are the Sahibqiran and descended from the line of prophets, I also am highborn and come from the line of a mighty prophet, Suleiman. Nor indeed am I any weaker than you. When you think of killing me, know well that I can also kill you.”
Amir was most vexed by her words, which sent him into a mad rage. He drew his sword and leapt at Aasman Peri, who also drew her dagger and charged at him. The perizads swarmed over them to break up the fight and separated the warring parties. Someone took this news to Emperor Shahpal. It caused him great distress to hear about it. He rushed to the scene and rebuked his daughter, saying, “O impudent girl! How dare you talk back to your husband and fight with him?” After admonishing his daughter, Shahpal said to Amir, “Come morning, I will send you off and say farewell to you.”
In the morning, the emperor sent for a throne for Amir, and ordered four swift devs to take him immediately to the world of humans. When Aasman Peri received the news, she took their daughter, Quraisha, into her arms and went to see Amir Hamza. Upon seeing Amir Hamza sitting on the throne, Aasman Peri began crying and said, “
O Sahibqiran! I can understand if you do not love me, but do you not feel any pity for this girl? For God’s sake forgive my offense.”
Amir replied, “I am not angry with you and I do love the girl, but I must needs return to the land of the humans. I shall return to you when you invite me. You can also come to see me whenever you wish, and also bring Quraisha with you!” Amir then ordered the devs to carry his throne aloft and set out toward his homeland.
Aasman Peri returned to her quarters and gave herself over to fits of sorrow and grief. Salasal Perizad became sorrowful upon finding her in that state. Aasman Peri said to him, “It is my wish that you go to the devs and caution them not to carry Hamza to the world of men but to abandon him instead in the Bayaban-e Heyrat.”
Salasal Perizad carried out Aasman Peri’s orders and instructed the devs as he was told. The devs consulted together and concluded that if they went against Aasman Peri’s wishes, it would be impossible for them to inhabit the lands of Qaf in peace. They decided at last to leave Hamza where Aasman Peri had ordered. Having settled on this course of action, they descended with the throne into the Bayaban-e Heyrat and lay down there to rest their backs. When Amir asked why they had alighted there, they replied, “We are hungry and would like to go hunting.” Amir said, “Very well!” Amir sat down on the throne to wait for the devs’ return. But he saw neither hide nor hair of any dev after keeping wide awake the whole night. When it was broad daylight and there was still no sign of the devs’ return, Amir reasoned that it must be fear of Aasman Peri that caused them to deceive and abandon him. He decided to submit to fate and go forth on his own on foot.
Around noon he reached another bleak desert where neither grass nor any shrubbery grew and there was no sign of any life, plant, animal, or human. Wherever he looked, mounds of sand shone like mercury and flames danced on the sand from the blazing sun. The armor Amir wore on his body became so hot that merely touching it burned his hands. Amir threw his weapons on the ground. From the pain of thirst he came very near to dying. He dug a pit in the sand and pressed his breast against the cool, moist sand underground. When that sand became hot, too, he dug even deeper and lay there. Amir had dug under a dune, and it collapsed over him. Amir was buried underneath, making it impossible for him to extricate himself as he was unable to move his limbs.
Meanwhile, one day Emperor Shahpal asked Abdur Rahman, “Tell me how Hamza has fared in his journey.” From drawing the horoscope Abdur Rahman determined that Hamza lay buried under the sand. He sighed, then said, “A hundred thousand bitter woes that Hamza’s youth and his life were thus squandered for nothing!” Then he narrated Hamza’s circumstances.
The emperor sent for the devs who had been ordered to carry Amir’s throne and angrily asked them, “Where did you take Hamza?” The devs replied, “We left him in the Bayaban-e Heyrat as Aasman Peri commanded.”
This propelled the emperor into a fit of passion. He looked toward Aasman Peri and said, “How do you explain yourself?” She replied, “I have no desire to send Hamza to the world of humans. But I will go in search of him now and shall bring him back myself.” The emperor replied, “Don’t waste your time. Not knowing where to find him you will torment yourself in vain.” The emperor set out on the quest taking his devs along.
One perizad happened upon the dune where Amir lay buried under mounds of sand. The perizad saw the glow of the shabchiragh jewel in Amir’s headgear. He removed the sand and discovered Amir lying unconscious in a sorry state. He called out, “The Quake of Qaf lies here!” After extricating Amir, Shahpal had him carried to his throne.
After some hours, Amir woke up and found Shahpal sitting near him. He gathered his strength and rose and addressed the emperor thus: “What wrong have I done you that you acted in this manner toward me?” Shahpal replied, “O Sahibqiran! I swear by the name of King Suleiman and by your life that these actions were not carried out at my behest. It was all done at the command of my thoughtless daughter, Aasman Peri.”
Upon these words Aasman Peri rushed in and threw herself at Amir’s feet, and said, “O Sahibqiran! Indeed I am the guilty one. Pray forgive me this once. Come with me to Shehristan-e Zarrin to rest and enjoy yourself. I promise to send you to the world of men after six months.” Amir answered, “I trust neither your words nor your actions.” Aasman Peri swore upon the name of King Suleiman and finally prevailed on Amir to return with her to Shehristan-e Zarrin.
However, the appointed time came and passed, and Amir did not receive leave to return to the world of humans. He again saw Mehr-Nigar in his dreams one night and discovered her in the same anguish and torment as before. The Sahibqiran started in his dream and when he opened his eyes he saw that he was still languishing in Qaf. He began to weep and cold sighs issued from his lips.
Aasman Peri opened her eyes and saw Amir inconsolable with despair. She got up and wiped the tears from his face and said, “What has caused you such grief at this hour?” Amir kept absolutely silent, drenching kerchief after kerchief with his tears and weeping without cease.
In the morning Amir said to Shahpal, “Grant me leave now to depart!” The emperor immediately consented and ordered four devs to transport him to the world of humans with comfort and bring back a receipt from him of his arrival at his destination. The devs departed carrying the throne on their shoulders and Aasman Peri abandoned herself again to the same state of lamentation and grief.
She told Salasal Perizad to take a message to the devs that if they valued their lives at all, they would abandon Amir on the enchanted Jazira-e Sargardan, where he might wander around for a few days by himself and have some time to reflect on his fate. Salasal managed to communicate Aasman Peri’s message to the devs and persuaded them to carry out her wishes.
The devs flew the whole day and, come evening, they alighted in the arid plains of Jazira-e Sargardan to carry out Aasman Peri’s orders. The devs made an excuse and departed, promising to return in the morning. When it was morning and the devs did not return, Amir reckoned that they, too, had deceived him. He embarked alone on the journey, but in the evening he ended up in the same place where the devs had left him. He underwent the same trial for three days even though he took a different direction each time. On the fourth day he took a new direction and traveled well into the afternoon. When the desert began to burn with heat, he saw a few green trees in one spot and headed there to lie down to rest his back. Amir saw an octagonal marble building there and he sat on the floor and rested his back against its columns.
Hardly an hour had passed when a great din was heard from the direction of the forest, from which a most singular creature now appeared. It was a dev with the head of a peacock who was as tall as a tower and wielded the trunk of a box tree. Upon arriving before Amir, he said, “O son of man! Woe to the ill will and the hand that sent you here! Now you will not escape with your life!” He swung the tree and brought it down on Amir. The Sahibqiran answered with a strike from the Aqrab-e Suleimani, which cut the tree trunk in two but produced not even a scratch on the dev’s body. The dev escaped in the blink of an eye, but before long he reappeared and attacked Amir again. Once again Amir failed to injure him.
When the same thing happened a third time, Amir pleaded to the Almighty God and his eyes welled up with tears. Suddenly Prophet Khizr materialized there. After reciting the Most Great Name, Khizr himself killed the dev and disappeared whence he had come. Amir sat down and occupied himself with admiring the expanse. A cold breeze suddenly picked up and lulled him to sleep. Amir had a dream in which he saw Mehr-Nigar crying in his love. When he awoke, it occurred to Amir Hamza that he should trust his fate and follow the path of the river that flowed there to find his way out of that wasteland. Thus determined, Amir cut down tree branches to make himself a raft, and then he put it in the water. The raft had traversed half the length of the river when suddenly a great current came over the water and sent the raft back to the shore where Amir had embarked. Amir put the raft in the water seventy-two times and each
time when the raft reached the middle of the river, either a great turbulence or a great storm returned it to the shore where it had begun its journey. Amir spent a whole week trying his luck but was foiled every single time.
Finally Amir was once again on shore and said his prayers in preparation for taking to the water, supplicating with passionate fervor to the Captain of the Ship of the World. At once Amir was overtaken by sleep, and in a dream he saw Prophet Nuh, who helped him ford the river by disclosing its secret. Amir travelled on the river in his raft for twenty days.
On the twenty-first day he arrived along a pleasant expanse of field. Amir disembarked and walked inland a little ways. Before he had gone two or three kos, he came upon seven great wolves. The largest among them was white. It is said that these were the Seven Wolves of Suleiman. When the wolves saw Amir, they surrounded him on all sides. The Sahibqiran unsheathed the Aqrab-e Suleimani and killed all seven of them. He skinned the wolves and draped the pelts around his shoulders and traveled on.
One day Amir came upon a garden and saw in it a throne of emerald luxuriously decorated with bolsters and cushions. Amir stepped up and reclined on the throne. Amir was comfortably seated on the throne when a two-headed dev named Ra’ad arrived there thundering and roaring. The commotion and tumult he created were the same as if an ensemble of a thousand musicians had suddenly started playing simultaneously. He first attacked Amir but witnessing his might, went and hid himself into an empty well. Amir waited at the mouth of the well but the dev showed no signs of emerging. Then Amir fell asleep and Amar Ayyar appeared to him in a dream. Amar guided Hamza to inundate the well to force the dev to emerge from it. When Amir woke up he followed the instructions received in the dream and presently Ra’ad emerged and tried to escape, but Amir leapt forward and dealt him a blow of his sword which sliced Ra’ad like a cucumber, and he fell to the ground in two halves. The flames of Hell immediately engulfed his corpse.
The Adventures of Amir Hamza Page 33