Rustum & Sohrab Class 8 Questions & Answers
Qno1:Why was Rustum not able to live with his wife for a long time?
Answer:
Rustum was not able to live with his wife for Kaikoos, the king of Persia, was feeling unsafe of the enemies and wanted his best man in the team back again. Therefore, he sent for him and asked him to come back to Persia.
Qno2 : Why did Tanimeh send word to Rustum that their child was a daughter?
Answer:
Tanimeh feared that learning the truth that she has given birth to a boy, Rustum would take away the child from her and would make him a soldier like himself and Tanimeh would be left alone again. So, Tanimeh decided to lie to Rustum and told him that she had given birth to a daughter instead.
Qno3:What secret did Sohrab learn from his mother?
Answer:
Sohrab learnt a jaw-dropping secret from his mother that he is the son of the great Rustum.
Qno4: What did Tanimeh want Sohrab to do when he met his father?
Answer:
As Sohrab & Rustum had never seen each other, they couldn’t recognise each other. However, Soharb had a precious stone tied around his arm that was given to his mother by his father, Rustum. So, Tanimeh asked him to show the stone to his father, so that he could recognise him.
Qno5: Why was Rustum at first not ready to fight Sohrab?
Answer :
Rustum wasn’t ready to fight Sohrab at first because he thought that he had grown old then. Moreover, he had an aged father to look after.
Qno6: Why did Rustum not tell Sohrab who he was?
Answer:
Rustum did not tell Sohrab his identity for two reasons----Firstly, he did not want people to know that Persia had no young soldier of Sohrab’s match and secondly, he felt that if he would disclose his identity, Sohrab would want to make peace with him and withdraw from the fight.
Qno7: How was Sohrab wounded?
Answer :
The combat between Rustum and Sohrab lasted for three days until Rustum started to become worried of his maiden defeat and shouted his most famous war cry ‘Rustum!’ which unnerved Sohrab and Rustum stabbed him in the side with his sword & thus Sohrab sank to the ground.
Qno8: What were Sohrab’s last words?
Answer:
Sohrab looked at his father’s face & pronounced these final words,
“father, be comforted that you and I have found each other. Do not grieve over what fate has brought about, fulfil this wish of mine. Carry me to your home & bury me there, so that people who pass by will say:
“Sohrab, the mighty Rustum’s son, lies here,
Whom his great father did in ignorance kill!”
SUMMARY
"Rustum and Sohrab" is a tragic story from Persia (now called as Iran). Rustum was a brave and fearless soldier. He has often saved his country from foreign invasion. So he was called "The Shield of Persia". Kaikoos, the king of Persia had a lot of faith on Rustum. He used to say that "Persia is safe as long as Rustum leads our soldiers"
Once in the course of his travels Rustum met a Tartar princess, Tanimeh. They fell in love with each other and married. But Rustum was not able to live with his wife for a long time as the king of Persia called him back. He didn't feel safe unless Rustum was in his kingdom to protect and defend it. At the time of parting he gave his wife a precious stone and told her when she would become a mother she should tie that stone on the child's arm and told her to keep their marriage as a secret.
In due course, Tanimeh gave birth to a son. She knew that when the boy grew up Rustum would be eager to have him follow in his footsteps; in this way she would lose her son as she lost her husband. So she sent word to Rustum that their child was a daughter. Tanimeh named her son Sohrab.
Sohrab grew into a brave and handsome boy. He learnt to use the sword and shield and become skilled in the art of war. One day Sohrab learned the secret of his father's name that had been hidden from him by his mother for some reason. Sohrab told his mother that he would go in search of his father at once.
His mother begged her not to go. But finding him determined to go, she told him to show his father the precious stone that he had worn on his arm because that stone was given to her by Rustum. By doing that his father would easily recognize him. Sohrab collected an army and marched to Persia. His purpose was not only to find his father but also to make him the king of Persia. When Sohrab crossed into Persia, Kaikoos sent his army to fight with invaders. But one after another King's generals were killed.
So the king called Rustum, who was his only hope. But Rustum refused to fight with Sohrab as he was too old to fight a young brave man and he had an aged father to look after. But the king told him that he had to fight with Sohrab in order to protect Persia. To which Sohrab replied that he would then go as a plain soldier. Wearing plain armour so that nobody would know that old Rustum had to fight with a beardless boy (Sohrab), Rustum rode to the battle field and stood in front of the enemy soldiers and called out to Sohrab. Sohrab came out to meet Rustum.
When Sohrab heard the mighty voice of Rustum he thought that it was perhaps his father's. He approached Rustum and said to him, "Are you Rustum"? Rustum thought that the young man was trying to be clever. If he told the truth Sohrab might want to make peace with him and withdraw from the fight. So he told him that it was none of his business. Then they started fighting with each other. They fought for three days.
Rustum thought that he might lose and it would be terrible disgrace for him. So he shouted his usual war cry, Sohrab was unnerved and he dropped his shield. Rustum's sword pierced his side and he sank to the ground. Sohrab told him that his mighty father (Rustum) would avenge him his death. On hearing that Rustum told him that he never had a son. Then he saw a precious stone tied around his arm.
He fell on his knees and bent on Sohrab's body.He broke down and could not speak anything.Sohrab looked at his father's face and told him to take him home and bury there so that people who pass by would say that Sohrab, the mighty Rustum's son, lay there, whom his father in ignorance had killed.
If you have any doubt please let me know