Epic · 10th–11th century

A Palace of Verse

Ferdowsiفردوسی

یکی بندگی کردم ای شهریار

I have done a service, O king,

که ماند ز من در جهان یادگار

that will remain in the world as my keepsake.

بناهای آباد گردد خراب

Flourishing buildings fall to ruin

ز باران وز تابش آفتاب

from the rain and the heat of the sun;

پی افگندم از نظم کاخی بلند

I have laid the foundations of a high palace of verse

که از باد و بارانش نآید گزند

that wind and rain will never harm.

بر این نامه بر سالها بگذرد

Years will pass over this book,

همی خواند آن کس که دارد خرد

and whoever has wisdom will read it.

From: The Shahnameh
Translation: Persiahaus Editors
Source: Draft translation from the Ganjoor text
Persian text: Ganjoor

A note for readers

Ferdowsi's most famous claim for his own work: buildings crumble, but the Shahnameh is a palace of verse that weather cannot touch. On Ganjoor the lines stand in a passage in praise of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, to whom the finished epic was dedicated, before the story of Kay Khosrow's great war with Afrasiab.