e lyrics are in Middle-Persian, the chronological variety of the Persian language spoken in the Sasanian Era, and they are taken from a rhymed ballad dating to the time following the fall of the Sasanian Empire at the hands of the Arabic Rashidun Caliphate. According to J. C. Tavadia from “The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland” in 1955, while the exact date of the poem cannot be pinpointed, some estimates can be made.
The greatest peculiarity of the poem is that it rhymes–as a general rule of thumb, Iranian and Greco-Roman poems of the Ancient World did not rhyme, and the concept was popularised by the Arabs following their expansion in the Early Middle-Ages. This would point to a late date for the poem, but Tavadia indicates that the use of certain, more archaic Middle-Persian words supports the idea that this poem would have been written at an earlier date, therefore it is possible that this text was produced in the very decades following the conquest of Iran by the Arabs.
The text expresses the hope of the era’s Iranians, who await the coming of a Zoroastrian messianic figure called Shah Vahram Varzavand, a figure who will come from India, overthrow the Arab invaders and restore native Iranian and Zoroastrian rule to the land. The poem can essentially be contextualised as a “wish-image” of the oppressed Zoroastrian Iranians yearning for the return of the previous state of rule. The figure of Shah Vahram as a messianic figure carries with him the weight of Iranian mythology, as he is said to be of the lineage of the Kayanian–the mythological dynasty of Iran who was said to have ruled at the beginning of the world, and the dynasty around which the Shahnameh epic revolves. The poem can therefore be described as both a deeply nationalistic and religious one; the two concepts being intertwined in this historical context, with Zoroastrianism being one with the concept of Iranian identity in the eyes of the text’s writer(s).
No-Passion1127 on
The lyrics :
“When will a courier come from India? (to say) that: “King Vahrām of the family of the Kavi has come, Having a thousand elephants, being upon them an elephant-keeper, Having raised banners, in the manner of the Husrô (Persian kings) The advance-guards are led by the generals!
A man should be dispatched, a clever interpreter, Who may go and tell to India, Alas at What we have seen from the hands of the Arabs. All at once they weakened the religion and killed the kings.
We (have become) inferior, they are like kings. They have taken away the sovereignty from the Husrôgan, Not by virtue and valour, (like the nobles,) But in mockery and scorn, (like the demons.)
By force they have taken away from men They have demanded again the tribute, a heavy impost. From us shall come that king Vahrâm, Possessing marvellous power, of the family of the Kavi. We will bring vengeance in the Arabs, As Rostam brought a hundred to the Syavashan.
Behold how much evil that demon has cast upon the world, There is no more evil than they in the world,
We will destroy the mosques, establish fires, We will raze the idol temples and blot them from the world,
Til’ evil gets destroyed, the daevic creature from the world, Finished with salutations and happiness.”
Original middle Persian lyrics :
Kay bavâd kû pêg-ê âyed az Hindûgân? Kû : “mad hân i Shâh varhrân az dûd ag î kayân!” Kê shpîl ast hazâr, abar sar-ô-sar ast pîlbân, Ke abrâstag drafs dâred ped êvên î husrôgân pêsh-lashkar barend ped spâh-sâlârân!
Mard-ê visê abâyed kirdan zîrag targumân, Ke shaved bê gôbed ped Hindûgân Kû amâh cê dîd az dast î tâzîgân, Amâh azêr, avêshân côn shâhân, Bê stad hend pâdixshâyîh î az husrôgân, Nê ped hunar ud mardîh, côn êrân, Bê ped afsôs ud riyahrîh, côn dêvân!
Bê stad hend ped stahm az mardômân, Abâz harâg âst hend, sâg î grân, Az amâh bê âyed hân Shâh Varhrâm, I Varzâvand az dûdag î Kayân , Bê âvarem kên î tâzîgân, Côn rôstahm âvurd sad kên î Syâvashân!
Be niger ka čand wad abgand ān druz pad ēn gēhān ka nēst wattar az ōy andar gēhān.
Mazgitīhā frōd hilēm, be nišānēm ātaxšān uzdēszārīhā be kanēm ud pāk kunēm az gēhān, tā wany šawēnd druz-wišūdagān az ēn gēhān.
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OP you can’t just say that and not drop the lyrics.
Inspired by this :
https://youtu.be/aJvVKzbMBk4?si=4lZZjk9_ka5LaKju
e lyrics are in Middle-Persian, the chronological variety of the Persian language spoken in the Sasanian Era, and they are taken from a rhymed ballad dating to the time following the fall of the Sasanian Empire at the hands of the Arabic Rashidun Caliphate. According to J. C. Tavadia from “The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland” in 1955, while the exact date of the poem cannot be pinpointed, some estimates can be made.
The greatest peculiarity of the poem is that it rhymes–as a general rule of thumb, Iranian and Greco-Roman poems of the Ancient World did not rhyme, and the concept was popularised by the Arabs following their expansion in the Early Middle-Ages. This would point to a late date for the poem, but Tavadia indicates that the use of certain, more archaic Middle-Persian words supports the idea that this poem would have been written at an earlier date, therefore it is possible that this text was produced in the very decades following the conquest of Iran by the Arabs.
The text expresses the hope of the era’s Iranians, who await the coming of a Zoroastrian messianic figure called Shah Vahram Varzavand, a figure who will come from India, overthrow the Arab invaders and restore native Iranian and Zoroastrian rule to the land. The poem can essentially be contextualised as a “wish-image” of the oppressed Zoroastrian Iranians yearning for the return of the previous state of rule. The figure of Shah Vahram as a messianic figure carries with him the weight of Iranian mythology, as he is said to be of the lineage of the Kayanian–the mythological dynasty of Iran who was said to have ruled at the beginning of the world, and the dynasty around which the Shahnameh epic revolves. The poem can therefore be described as both a deeply nationalistic and religious one; the two concepts being intertwined in this historical context, with Zoroastrianism being one with the concept of Iranian identity in the eyes of the text’s writer(s).
The lyrics :
“When will a courier come from India? (to say) that: “King Vahrām of the family of the Kavi has come, Having a thousand elephants, being upon them an elephant-keeper, Having raised banners, in the manner of the Husrô (Persian kings) The advance-guards are led by the generals!
A man should be dispatched, a clever interpreter, Who may go and tell to India, Alas at What we have seen from the hands of the Arabs. All at once they weakened the religion and killed the kings.
We (have become) inferior, they are like kings. They have taken away the sovereignty from the Husrôgan, Not by virtue and valour, (like the nobles,) But in mockery and scorn, (like the demons.)
By force they have taken away from men They have demanded again the tribute, a heavy impost. From us shall come that king Vahrâm, Possessing marvellous power, of the family of the Kavi. We will bring vengeance in the Arabs, As Rostam brought a hundred to the Syavashan.
Behold how much evil that demon has cast upon the world, There is no more evil than they in the world,
We will destroy the mosques, establish fires, We will raze the idol temples and blot them from the world,
Til’ evil gets destroyed, the daevic creature from the world, Finished with salutations and happiness.”
Original middle Persian lyrics :
Kay bavâd kû pêg-ê âyed az Hindûgân? Kû : “mad hân i Shâh varhrân az dûd ag î kayân!” Kê shpîl ast hazâr, abar sar-ô-sar ast pîlbân, Ke abrâstag drafs dâred ped êvên î husrôgân pêsh-lashkar barend ped spâh-sâlârân!
Mard-ê visê abâyed kirdan zîrag targumân, Ke shaved bê gôbed ped Hindûgân Kû amâh cê dîd az dast î tâzîgân, Amâh azêr, avêshân côn shâhân, Bê stad hend pâdixshâyîh î az husrôgân, Nê ped hunar ud mardîh, côn êrân, Bê ped afsôs ud riyahrîh, côn dêvân!
Bê stad hend ped stahm az mardômân, Abâz harâg âst hend, sâg î grân, Az amâh bê âyed hân Shâh Varhrâm, I Varzâvand az dûdag î Kayân , Bê âvarem kên î tâzîgân, Côn rôstahm âvurd sad kên î Syâvashân!
Be niger ka čand wad abgand ān druz pad ēn gēhān ka nēst wattar az ōy andar gēhān.
Mazgitīhā frōd hilēm, be nišānēm ātaxšān uzdēszārīhā be kanēm ud pāk kunēm az gēhān, tā wany šawēnd druz-wišūdagān az ēn gēhān.
Frazaft pad drōd šādīh