An Ancient Persian Love story: Shirin & Farhad (Part I)
Love is never tempted by wealth and grandeur. Shirin, the daughter of a poor man, but rich in ideal, was kidnapped and taken to the Shah of Faras, who instantly became enamored of her, and gave great rewards to those who had brought her. But, to his great disappointment, he found that Shirin was unresponsive to his love, and her ideal was too great to allow her to be tempted by the wealth and grandeur of the Shah. He did everything to please her and to make her willing to marry him, but every effort had the contrary effect.
When Shirin saw that there was no hope anywhere of rescue from the palace, which to her was a cage, and the importunity of the Shah and his servants wore out her patience so much that she was obliged to consent to their offer, she did so on one condition, which was that a canal should be made as a memorial of the occasion. This was, of course, a pretext for putting off the marriage, for the cutting of a canal was the work of years. The Shah was so much fascinated by her youth and beauty that he seized upon even the smallest sign of yielding, and at once gave command to the engineers and architects of the court to begin work on a canal without a moment’s delay, and to accomplish it as soon as possible, sparing no expense or labor. Thousands of workmen were soon engaged in this, and the work went on night and day unceasingly, under the watchful eye of the king himself and his servants.
The nearer the work came to being accomplished, the stronger grew the hope of the king, and he, with great pleasure, requested Shirin to go and look at her canal. She, with despondent mind, went to see the canal, fearing that it would soon be finished and she would have to yield to the wishes of the Shah, which she regarded as worse than death. While she was walking, looking at the work going on where thousands of workmen were busy night and day, to her great surprise a workman came up, won entirely by her beauty and charm, and fearlessly exclaimed, ‘O Shirin, I love you.’ ‘Love overlooks the difference of position of the lover and the beloved, and the height that the lover has to climb.’
It was that voice of love and that word of devotion that Shirin was looking for, and had not found until then. Shirin replied, ‘Do you love me? Then break these mountains, and cut a pathway through them.’ ‘Gold has a test to go through.’ Farhad said at once, ‘Most willingly. Yes, Shirin, whatever you please.’ ‘There is nothing too hard for the lover to do for the beloved.’
Farhad set out on his journey wholeheartedly, not wondering why he should cut a path, nor reasoning how this great work might be accomplished. He did not stop to think how long it would take to finish, nor had he any misgiving that his efforts might ever be in vain. He went to those mountains in the wilderness and began to break the rocks with his pickax. He repeated the name of Shirin at every stroke he gave. The strokes of Farhad wrought a miracle. Instead of one stroke it was as if a hundred strokes fell at a time. ‘Man’s power is the strength of his body, but love’s power is the might of God.’ No sooner was the work begun than it neared completion. Work that would have taken years with many workers engaged on it was accomplished in days.
Shirin had refused the Shah since she had seen Farhad, saying, ‘There is another lover who is undergoing a test, and until I know the outcome of his trial I think it better to keep from marriage.’
The king’s spies had been watching Farhad from afar, and they immediately sent a report that Farhad had completed his work before the canal was finished. The Shah was very much alarmed, thinking that Farhad would most probably win Shirin’s love, and that after his having done all this for her, Shirin would not be his. When he told this to his confidants one among them said, ‘Sire, you are the king, Farhad is a workman. What comparison between heaven and earth? I will go, if it be the pleasure of your Majesty, and will finish him in a moment.’ ‘Oh, no,’ said the Shah, ‘Shirin will see the stain of his blood on me, and will turn her back on me forever.’ One among the king’s servants said, ‘It is not difficult for me, my Lord, to bring the life of Farhad to an end without shedding a single drop of blood.’ ‘That is much better’, said the Shah (to be continued ...)
