Ferdowsi Quotes: 25 Famous Lines in Persian and English (Verified)

The most famous Ferdowsi quote is توانا بود هر که دانا بود (tavânâ bovad har ke dânâ bovad), “Whoever is wise is powerful,” from the opening of the Shahnameh. The full couplet goes on: ز دانش دل پیر برنا بود (ze dânesh del-e pir bornâ bovad), “through knowledge, an old heart stays young.”

Listen

Below are the other lines Iranians actually quote, 25 in all, each in Persian script with transliteration, our own close translation, who says it in the poem, and where to find it. Every Persian line was checked against the text of the Shahnameh on Ganjoor, the online library of Persian poetry Iranians use every day. We also cover the famous “Ferdowsi quotes” that are misquoted or not in the Shahnameh at all, including the well-known line about “thirty years” of hard work.

Famous Ferdowsi quotes at a glance

These are the lines Iranians quote most often: in school books, on posters, in speeches and on social media. Each one is explained further down the page.

Who was Ferdowsi?

Abolqasem Ferdowsi (ابوالقاسم فردوسی, abolghâsem ferdowsi) was born around 940 near the city of Tus in Khorasan, in northeastern Iran. He came from the class of dehqâns, landowning families who kept the old stories of Iran’s kings and heroes alive. He spent roughly thirty years turning those stories into verse, and he finished the Shahnameh (شاهنامه, shâhnâme, “Book of Kings”) in 1010. The last section of the poem itself gives the year, 400 in the Islamic calendar. He died around 1020 and was buried in Tus, where his tomb still stands, a short drive from Mashhad.

The Shahnameh runs to roughly 50,000 couplets and tells the history of Iran from the first mythical king to the Arab conquest in the 7th century. It is written in a simple, strong Persian with relatively few Arabic loanwords (see Farsi vs. Arabic), and Iranians credit it with keeping the Persian language alive. That is why Ferdowsi is often called the savior of Persian, and why the day honoring him, 25 Ordibehesht (around May 15), is also a day for the Persian language in Iran. For the stories themselves, read our guide to the Shahnameh and its heroes.

A famous story, told about a century after his death by the writer Nezami Aruzi, says that Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, to whom the poem is dedicated, paid Ferdowsi far less than he had promised, and that the proper reward finally arrived just as the poet’s body was being carried out of the city. The story is moving, but historians treat it as a legend rather than a record.

How to read these lines

Every couplet in the Shahnameh has the same meter (called motaghâreb), with eleven syllables in each half-line: da-DUM-DUM da-DUM-DUM da-DUM-DUM da-DUM. Read the lines out loud with that beat and the old words fall into place. Three things help learners:

• بود (bovad) is an old form of “is” (or “will be”). In modern Persian you would say است (ast) or spoken ـه (-e). Learn the modern forms in our lesson on “to be” in Persian.
• Old spellings. Ganjoor keeps some older spellings: بخاک for modern به خاک, افگند for افکند, براید for برآید. We print the lines as Ganjoor does, minus the vowel marks.
• Short forms. Poets join words to fit the meter: کز (kaz) is که از, دادست (dâd-ast) is داد است, and یادگارست is یادگار است.

If the letters themselves are still new, start with our Persian alphabet guide; poetry is much easier once you can read without the short vowels.

Ferdowsi quotes about wisdom and knowledge

The Shahnameh opens not with kings but with praise of God and of kherad (خرد), wisdom or reason. It is the poem’s key word, and you will see it again and again below.

1. The opening line of the Shahnameh

به نام خداوند جان و خرد / کز این برتر اندیشه بر نگذرد
(be nâm-e khodâvand-e jân o kherad / kaz in bartar andishe bar nagzarad)
“In the name of the Lord of soul and wisdom, beyond whom no thought can rise”

Listen

Source: Shahnameh, opening section, couplet 1 (Ganjoor). Many Iranian children know this line by heart. Notice that God is described first as the lord of jân (soul, life) and kherad (wisdom). Iranians also use the first half on its own as a respectful heading at the top of a book or a speech.

2. Knowledge is power

توانا بود هر که دانا بود / ز دانش دل پیر برنا بود
(tavânâ bovad har ke dânâ bovad / ze dânesh del-e pir bornâ bovad)
“Whoever is wise is powerful; through knowledge, an old heart stays young”

Listen

Source: Shahnameh, opening section, couplet 14 (Ganjoor). This is the Ferdowsi line most Iranians would quote first. You see the first half on school walls, university gates and graduation cards. توانا (tavânâ) means “able, powerful,” دانا (dânâ) “wise, knowing,” and برنا (bornâ) is a poetic word for “young.”

3. Wisdom takes your hand

خرد رهنمای و خرد دلگشای / خرد دست گیرد به هر دو سرای
(kherad rahnamây o kherad delgoshây / kherad dast girad be har do sarây)
“Wisdom is a guide, wisdom gladdens the heart; wisdom takes your hand in both worlds”

Listen

Source: Shahnameh, “In praise of wisdom,” couplet 4 (Ganjoor). The section begins a few lines earlier with خرد بهتر از هر چه ایزد بداد (kherad behtar az har che izad bedâd), “Wisdom is better than anything God has given.” The “two worlds” (دو سرای, do sarây) are this life and the next. دست کسی را گرفتن (dast-e kasi râ gereftan), “to take someone’s hand,” still means “to help someone” in modern Persian.

4. A wise enemy, a foolish friend

چو دانا تو را دشمن جان بود / به از دوست مردی که نادان بود
(cho dânâ to-râ doshman-e jân bovad / beh az dust mardi ke nâdân bovad)
“A wise man who is your mortal enemy is better than a friend who is a fool”

Listen

Source: Shahnameh, reign of Khosrow Anushirvan, the first counsels of Bozorgmehr, couplet 29 (Ganjoor). Bozorgmehr, the wise minister of King Khosrow Anushirvan, speaks these words in the royal assembly. The line is often quoted as a proverb. دشمن جان (doshman-e jân) is literally “enemy of the soul,” someone who wants you dead.

5. Patience is the brother of wisdom

مدارا خرد را برادر بود / خرد بر سر جان چو افسر بود
(modârâ kherad râ barâdar bovad / kherad bar sar-e jân cho afsar bovad)
“Tolerance is the brother of wisdom; wisdom sits on the soul like a crown”

Listen

Source: the same speech of Bozorgmehr, couplet 28 (Ganjoor). مدارا (modârâ) means patience and tact with difficult people, a quality Iranians still praise. افسر (afsar) here is a crown; in modern Persian the same word usually means an officer.

6. Everything has been said before

سخن هر چه گویم همه گفته‌اند / بر باغ دانش همه رفته‌اند
(sokhan har che guyam hame gofte-and / bar-e bâgh-e dânesh hame rofte-and)
“Whatever I say, others have said it all; they have already gathered every fruit in the garden of knowledge”

Listen

Source: Shahnameh, “On gathering the book” (Ganjoor). Ferdowsi’s modest way of introducing his work. Here بر (bar) means “fruit,” and رفته‌اند is read rofte-and, “they have swept,” from رفتن (roftan, to sweep), not rafte-and, “they have gone.” He adds that he will still find a place in the shade of that great tree.

7. Not just fables

تو این را دروغ و فسانه مدان / به رنگ فسون و بهانه مدان
(to in râ dorugh o fasâne madân / be rang-e fosun o bahâne madân)
“Do not take this for lies and fables, or for magic tricks and excuses”

Source: Shahnameh, “On gathering the book” (Ganjoor). The very next couplet explains how to read the book: از او هر چه اندر خورد با خرد / دگر بر ره رمز و معنی برد (az u har che andar khorad bâ kherad / degar bar rah-e ramz o ma’ni barad), “whatever in it fits with reason, take as it is; the rest, read as symbol and meaning.” It is a good key for the dragons, divs and the Simorgh in the stories.

Ferdowsi quotes about life, death and fate

The Shahnameh is full of heroes who die young, and Ferdowsi often stops the story to think about death and time. These are some of his most quoted reflections.

8. The unripe fruit

اگر تندبادی براید ز کنج / بخاک افگند نارسیده ترنج
(agar tond-bâdi barâyad ze konj / be khâk afganad nâreside toranj)
“If a sudden gale blows up from a corner, it throws the unripe citron to the ground”

Listen

Source: Shahnameh, story of Sohrab, couplet 1 (Ganjoor). These are the first words of the story of Rostam and Sohrab, in which a father unknowingly kills his young son. Before the story starts, the reader already knows that a life will be cut short. ترنج (toranj) is a citron, a large citrus fruit; the same word names the oval medallion in the middle of a Persian carpet.

9. If death is justice

اگر مرگ دادست بیداد چیست / ز داد این همه بانگ و فریاد چیست
(agar marg dâd-ast bidâd chist / ze dâd in hame bâng o faryâd chist)
“If death is justice, what then is injustice? Why all this crying and lament over justice?”

Listen

Source: Shahnameh, story of Sohrab, couplet 3 (Ganjoor). Ferdowsi plays on داد (dâd, justice) and بیداد (bidâd, injustice). The question is left open, and the story that follows makes it harder to answer.

10. A story full of tears

یکی داستانست پر آب چشم / دل نازک از رستم آید بخشم
(yeki dâstân-ast por âb-e chashm / del-e nâzok az rostam âyad be khashm)
“This is a story full of tears; a tender heart will be angry with Rostam”

Listen

Source: Shahnameh, story of Sohrab, last section, couplet 27 (Ganjoor). Ferdowsi closes the tragedy of Rostam and Sohrab with this line. آب چشم (âb-e chashm), literally “eye water,” is a poetic word for tears, and دل نازک (del-e nâzok) is a soft, tender heart.

11. The world remains, we pass

جهان یادگارست و ما رفتنی / به گیتی نماند به جز مردمی
(jahân yâdgâr-ast o mâ raftani / be giti namânad be joz mardomi)
“The world remains, and we are passing; nothing lasts in this world but humanity”

Listen

Source: Shahnameh, Rostam and Esfandiyar, couplet 58 (Ganjoor). Rostam, badly wounded in his fight with Esfandiyar, says this to the Simorgh, the magical bird that comes to heal him. مردمی (mardomi) means humanity, decency, kindness to people. You will often see the line quoted as “به مردم نماند به جز مردمی“; Ganjoor has به گیتی (be giti, “in the world”).

12. A good name

به نام نکو گر بمیرم رواست / مرا نام باید که تن مرگ راست
(be nâm-e neku gar bemiram ravâst / marâ nâm bâyad ke tan marg râst)
“If I die with a good name, so be it; I need a good name, for the body belongs to death”

Listen

Source: Shahnameh, Rostam and Esfandiyar, couplet 59 (Ganjoor). Rostam goes on in the next line. This is the heroic code of the whole Shahnameh: life is short, reputation lasts. نام (nâm) means both “name” and “good name, honor.”

Ferdowsi quotes about Iran

Ferdowsi is a national symbol in Iran, and lines about the homeland are among the most shared. Some of them, though, circulate in a reworded form. Here is what the text actually says.

13. Iran must not fall to ruin

دریغ‌ست ایران که ویران شود / کنام پلنگان و شیران شود
(darigh-ast irân ke virân shavad / konâm-e palangân o shirân shavad)
“It would be a pity for Iran to fall into ruin and become a den for leopards and lions”

Listen

Source: Shahnameh, war of Kavus with the king of Hamavaran, couplet 73 (Ganjoor). After King Kavus is captured abroad and Iran is left without a ruler, the Iranians go to Rostam and beg him to save the country with these words. دریغ‌ست is the short form of دریغ است (darigh ast), “it is a pity.” It is often printed as دریغ است ایران که ویران شود.

14. Merit over birth

سخن زین درازی چه باید کشید / هنر برتر از گوهر آمد پدید
(sokhan zin derâzi che bâyad keshid / honar bartar az gohar âmad padid)
“Why make the story longer? His merit proved greater than his birth”

Listen

Source: Shahnameh, story of Sohrab, couplet 5 (Ganjoor). The second half is the famous part, quoted on its own as a saying: what you do counts more than the family you come from. In the story it comes where news of the young Sohrab reaches Afrasiyab. هنر (honar) today means “art,” but in classical Persian it means skill, ability and virtue; گوهر (gohar) is a jewel, and also a person’s origin or essence.

The famous patriotic line چو ایران نباشد تن من مباد (cho irân nabâshad tan-e man mabâd, “if there is no Iran, let me not exist”) is not in Ganjoor’s text in that form. The closest line there is spoken by Hajir in the story of Sohrab, after he names the Iranian champions: نباشد به ایران تن من مباد / چنین دارم از موبد پاک یاد (nabâshad be irân, tan-e man mabâd / chonin dâram az mubad-e pâk yâd), roughly “if they were gone from Iran, may I not live; so I learned from a pure priest” (story of Sohrab, couplet 108, Ganjoor). The popular second half, بدین بوم و بر زنده یک تن مباد, is not there.

Heroes’ words: Rostam and the champions

Much of the Shahnameh is direct speech: boasts, threats and messages between kings and heroes. These short lines are the ones Iranians use with a smile when someone shows a bit of pride or determination.

15. No one ties Rostam’s hands

که گوید برو دست رستم ببند / نبندد مرا دست چرخ بلند
(ke guyad boro dast-e rostam beband / nabandad marâ dast charkh-e boland)
“Who says, “Go and tie Rostam’s hands”? Not even high heaven can tie my hands”

Listen

Source: Shahnameh, Rostam and Esfandiyar, couplet 24 (Ganjoor). Prince Esfandiyar has been ordered to bring Rostam to court in chains. Rostam, the greatest hero of Iran, refuses. چرخ (charkh), “the wheel,” is the turning sky, which in Persian poetry stands for fate.

16. Me, my mace and the battlefield

نجویم بر این کینه آرام و خواب / من و گرز و میدان افراسیاب
(najuyam bar in kine ârâm o khâb / man o gorz o meydân-e afrâsiyâb)
“In this feud I will look for neither rest nor sleep: just me, my mace and Afrasiyab’s battlefield”

Listen

Source: Shahnameh, story of the twelve combats, couplet 28 (Ganjoor). The commander Goudarz sends this message to the enemy through his son Giv. The second half became a saying for “I’ll handle it myself.” You may know a different version, چو فردا برآید بلند آفتاب / من و گرز و میدان و افراسیاب; that exact couplet is not in Ganjoor’s text.

Ferdowsi on his own work

Near the end of some sections and at the close of the whole poem, Ferdowsi steps forward and speaks about his labor and his hope that the book will outlive him. These are among his most famous lines, and they turned out to be true.

17. Buildings fall to ruin

بناهای آباد گردد خراب / ز باران وز تابش آفتاب
(bonâhâ-ye âbâd gardad kharâb / ze bârân vaz tâbesh-e âftâb)
“Fine buildings fall to ruin from the rain and the heat of the sun”

Source: Shahnameh, in praise of Sultan Mahmud, couplet 62 (Ganjoor). The setup for the next, even more famous couplet.

18. A palace of verse

پی افگندم از نظم کاخی بلند / که از باد و بارانش نآید گزند
(pey afgandam az nazm kâkhi boland / ke az bâd o bârânash nâyad gazand)
“I have laid the foundation of a tall palace of verse that wind and rain will never harm”

Listen

Source: the same section, couplet 63 (Ganjoor). Probably the second most quoted Ferdowsi line after “tavânâ bovad.” نظم (nazm) is verse, as opposed to نثر (nasr), prose. The next couplet adds: بر این نامه بر سالها بگذرد / همی خواند آن کس که دارد خرد (bar in nâme bar sâlhâ bogzarad / hami khânad ân kas ke dârad kherad), “years will pass over this book, and everyone with wisdom will read it.”

19. Years of hard work

من این نامه فرخ گرفتم به فال / بسی رنج بردم به بسیار سال
(man in nâme farrokh gereftam be fâl / basi ranj bordam be besyâr sâl)
“I took this book as a good omen and labored over it for many, many years”

Listen

Source: Shahnameh, reign of Goshtasp, Ferdowsi’s words on composing the book (Ganjoor). This is the Shahnameh line that really contains بسی رنج بردم (basi ranj bordam), “I suffered much.” رنج بردن (ranj bordan), “to carry hardship,” is still the normal way to say “to suffer, to work very hard.”

20. I will not die

از آن پس نمیرم که من زنده‌ام / که تخم سخن من پراکنده‌ام
(az ân pas namiram ke man zende-am / ke tokhm-e sokhan man parâkande-am)
“From now on I will not die, for I live on: I have scattered the seed of words”

Listen

Source: Shahnameh, the end of the book, couplet 22 (Ganjoor). The proudest lines of the poem, near its very end. They are often quoted with the words in a different order, نمیرم از این پس که من زنده‌ام. The English “I am deathless, I am the eternal Lord, for I have spread the seed of the Word,” shared on many quote sites, is a loose version of this couplet; the Persian says nothing about a “Lord.”

21. Praise after death

هر آنکس که دارد هش و رای و دین / پس از مرگ بر من کند آفرین
(har ân kas ke dârad hosh o rây o din / pas az marg bar man konad âfarin)
“Everyone who has sense, judgment and faith will praise me after I am gone”

Source: Shahnameh, the end of the book, couplet 23 (Ganjoor). آفرین (âfarin) is still a common word: teachers say آفرین to a student who answers well, like “well done.”

“Basi ranj bordam dar in sâl-e si”: the thirty years line

22. Thirty years of toil

بسی رنج بردم در این سال سی / عجم زنده کردم بدین پارسی
(basi ranj bordam dar in sâl-e si / ‘ajam zende kardam bedin pârsi)
“I suffered much in these thirty years; I brought Iran back to life with this Persian”

Listen

Source: Hajvnâme, the satire on Sultan Mahmud attributed to Ferdowsi. عجم (‘ajam) is the old Arabic word for non-Arabs, and especially Persians. This is probably the best-known couplet ever credited to Ferdowsi, and it sums up how Iranians see him: the man who saved the Persian language. But it is not in the Shahnameh itself. Ganjoor prints it in the Hajvnâme, a satirical poem against Sultan Mahmud that tradition says Ferdowsi wrote after he was underpaid. Ganjoor marks the satire as “attributed,” and notes that modern scholars doubt Ferdowsi wrote it. Quote it, but say “attributed to Ferdowsi.”

Fake and misquoted Ferdowsi quotes

Because Ferdowsi is so loved, many wise sayings get his name attached to them. These are the most common ones, checked against Ganjoor’s text of the Shahnameh.

The English lines on quote sites are a separate problem. Many come from old English prose retellings, such as Helen Zimmern’s The Epic of Kings, and they rarely say where in the poem they come from. If a “Ferdowsi quote” has no Persian original and no section of the Shahnameh attached, be careful. Manuscripts of the poem also differ, and modern critical editions sometimes read a line differently from Ganjoor, so small variations in wording are normal.

Where to read more Ferdowsi

All the lines above link to their pages on Ganjoor, where you can read each passage in full. If you enjoy classical lines like these, compare them with our pages of Hafez quotes, Omar Khayyam quotes and real Rumi quotes in Persian. Hafez and Rumi write lyric and mystical poetry; Ferdowsi tells stories, so his language is plainer and easier for learners. To read the stories of the first kings in simple Persian with English, see The Tale of Shahnameh’s First Kings. To look up an unknown word, use our Persian dictionary.

Want to test yourself on other poets too? Try our Persian poetry quiz.

Common questions

What is Ferdowsi’s most famous quote?

In Iran, the most quoted line is توانا بود هر که دانا بود (tavânâ bovad har ke dânâ bovad), “Whoever is wise is powerful,” from the opening of the Shahnameh. Close behind are the opening line به نام خداوند جان و خرد and پی افگندم از نظم کاخی بلند, “I laid the foundation of a tall palace of verse.”

What does “tavana bovad har ke dana bovad” mean?

It means “Whoever is wise (knowing) is powerful.” توانا is “able, powerful,” دانا is “wise,” and بود is an old form of “is.” The second half, ز دانش دل پیر برنا بود, adds “through knowledge, an old heart stays young.”

Did Ferdowsi write “basi ranj bordam dar in sal-e si”?

The couplet بسی رنج بردم در این سال سی / عجم زنده کردم بدین پارسی is traditionally credited to him, but it is not in the Shahnameh. Ganjoor prints it in the Hajvnâme, a satire attributed to Ferdowsi whose authorship scholars doubt. A similar real Shahnameh line is بسی رنج بردم به بسیار سال, “I labored for many years.”

Did Ferdowsi say “seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave”?

No. ز گهواره تا گور دانش بجوی is often credited to Ferdowsi, but it does not appear in the Shahnameh on Ganjoor. It is a popular saying that sounds like his style.

What did Ferdowsi say about Iran?

The best-known real line is دریغ‌ست ایران که ویران شود / کنام پلنگان و شیران شود, “It would be a pity for Iran to fall into ruin and become a den for leopards and lions,” spoken by Iranians asking Rostam for help. The popular چو ایران نباشد تن من مباد is a reworded form of a line spoken by Hajir.

How long did it take Ferdowsi to write the Shahnameh?

About thirty years. He finished it in 1010, and the poem has roughly 50,000 couplets.

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