Explore "Shahnameh" by Abolqasem Ferdowsi on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Once Kavus felt that his land was safe, he opened his heart to God and said: "O thou who art the guide to every blessing and who art higher than all fate, through you I found farr, glory, good fortune, greatness, my crown and my throne. You have given no one else the treasure and fame that you gave to me; I asked you for a warrior who would avenge the blood of Seyavash, and I saw my farsighted grandson, ambitious, glorious and wise, a man who outshines all former kings. But now I have lived for a hundred and fifty years and my hair that was as black as musk has turned as white as camphor. My body that was as straight and elegant as a cypress is bent like a bow, and if my days are to come to an end I shall not see death as a misfortune."
A short while later he died; all that remained of him in the world was his name. The lord Kay Khosrow came from his palace and sat himself down on the black earth: dressed in black and dark blue, devoid of all glory, the Persian nobles walked before him on foot. They mourned their king for two weeks, and built him a palatial tomb, ten lariat-lengths high. His body was treated with a salve compounded of camphor and musk, and then wrapped in robes of silk and brocade. Attendants placed him on an ivory dais, and anointed his head with camphor and musk. Kay Khosrow left the chamber, and the door to the king's resting place was sealed. No one ever saw Kavus again: he rested from war and revenge forever.