What the old man told the Urals. Very beautiful and poetic legend Ural Batyr"

Ural batyr

Ural batyr

Bashkir fairy tale

In ancient, very ancient times, when there was no Ural mountains, nor the beauty Agidel, in the middle of the dark deep forest An old man lived with his old woman. Long life they lived together, but one day the old woman died. The old man remained with two sons, the eldest of whom was called Shulgen, and the youngest - Ural. The old man went hunting, and Shulgen and Ural remained at home at that time. The old man was very strong and a very skilled hunter. It didn't cost him anything to drag a bear or a wolf alive. And all because before each hunt the old man drank a spoonful of the blood of some predator, and to on our own The old man's strength was increased by the beast whose blood he drank. And you could only drink the blood of an animal that a person killed himself. Therefore, the old man kept warning his sons: “You are still small, and don’t even think about drinking blood from a tursuk. Don’t even come close to the tursuk, otherwise you will die.”

One day, when my father went hunting, and Shulgen and Ural were sitting at home, a very beautiful woman came to them and asked:

Why are you sitting at home instead of going hunting with your father?

We would go, but my father doesn’t allow us. He says that we haven’t grown enough for this yet,” Ural and Shulgen answered.

Is it possible to grow up while sitting at home?” the woman laughed.

What should we do?

“You need to drink the blood from that tursuk,” said the woman. “It’s enough to drink just one spoonful of blood, and you will become real warriors and be strong like a lion.”

Father forbade us to even come close to this tursuk. He said if we drink blood, we will die. “We will not violate our father’s ban,” the boys answered.

It turns out that you are really small, and therefore you believe everything that your father tells you,” the woman laughed. “If you drink blood, you will become strong and brave, and you yourself will go to the beast, and your father will have to sit and protect you instead.” home and grow old quietly. This is what he is afraid of and that is why he forbids you to touch the tursuk with blood. But I’ve already said everything, and the rest is up to you to decide.

With these words, the woman disappeared as suddenly as she had appeared.

Believing the words of this woman, Shulgen tried the blood from the tursuk, and Ural firmly decided to keep his word to his father, and did not even come close to the tursuk.

Shulgen drank a spoonful of blood and immediately turned into a bear. Then this woman appeared again and laughed:

Do you see what a strong man your brother has become? And now I'll make a wolf out of him.

The woman clicked her finger on the bear's forehead, and it turned into a wolf. Clicked again - he turned into a lion. Then the woman mounted the lion and rode away.

It turns out that this woman was a juha. And because Shulgen believed the sweet speeches of this yukha in the guise beautiful woman and violated his father's ban, he forever lost his human appearance. Shulgen wandered through the forests for a long time, now in the guise of a bear, now in the guise of a wolf, until he finally drowned in deep lake. The lake in which Ural's brother drowned was later called Lake Shulgen.

And Ural grew up and became a hero, who had no equal in strength and courage. When he, like his father, began to go hunting, everything around him began to die. Rivers and lakes dried up, grass withered, leaves turned yellow and fell off the trees. Even the air became so heavy that it became difficult for all living things to breathe. People and animals died, and no one could do anything against Death. Seeing all this, the Urals began to think about seizing Death and destroying it. His father gave him his sword. This was a special sword. With each swing, this sword released striking arrows of lightning. And the father said to Ural:

With this sword you can crush anyone and anything. There is no force in the world that can resist this sword. He is powerless only against Death. But take it anyway, it will come in handy. And Death can be destroyed only by throwing it into the waters of the Living Spring. But this spring is very far from here. But there is no other way to defeat Death.

With these words, the father of the Urals saw off his son on a long and dangerous journey.

The Ural walked for a long time until it reached the crossroads of seven roads. There he met a gray-haired old man and addressed him with these words:

Long years to you, venerable elder! Can you show me which of these roads leads to the Living Spring?

The old man showed the Urals one of the roads.

“How far is it still from this spring?” asked Ural.

“But I can’t tell you this, son,” answered the old man. “For forty years I have been standing at this crossroads and showing travelers the way to the Living Spring.” But in all this time there has not been a single person who has walked back along this road.

Son, walk along this road a little and you will see a herd. There is only one white tulpar in this herd - Akbuzat. If you can, try to ride him.

Ural thanked the old man and walked along the road indicated by the old man. He walked through the Urals a little and saw the herd that the old man was talking about, and in this herd he saw Akbuzat. Ural looked at the white tulpar in fascination for some time, and then slowly approached the horse. Akbuzat did not show the slightest concern. Ural quietly stroked the horse and quickly jumped onto its back. Akbuzat got angry and threw the batyr off with such force that the Urals went into the ground up to his waist. Ural, using all his strength, crawled out of the ground and jumped on his horse again. Akbuzat dropped Ural again. This time the hero went into the ground up to his knees. Ural climbed out again, jumped onto the tulpar, and clung to it so much that Akbuzat, no matter how hard he tried, was unable to throw him off. After this, Akbuzat, together with the Urals, rushed along the road to the Living Spring. In the blink of an eye, Akbuzat rushed through wide fields, rocky deserts and cliffs, and stopped in the middle of a dark forest. And Akbuzat said to the Urals in human language:

We arrived at a cave in which a nine-headed deva lies and guards the road to the Living Spring. You'll have to fight him. Take three hairs from my mane. As soon as you need me, these three hairs will fall, and I will immediately appear in front of you.

Ural took three hairs from the horse’s mane, and Akbuzat immediately disappeared from sight.

While the Urals were wondering where to go, a very beautiful girl, who, bent over, carried a huge sack on her back. Ural stopped the girl and asked:

Wait, beauty. Where are you going and what's so heavy in your bag?

The girl stopped, put the bag on the ground, and with tears in her eyes told Ural her story:

My name is Karagash. Until recently, I grew up with my parents, free, like a forest deer, and was never denied anything. But a few days ago I was kidnapped by a nine-headed deva for the amusement of his nine cubs. And now, from morning to night, I carry them river pebbles in bags so that they can play with these pebbles.

Let me, beauty, I’ll carry this bag myself,” said Ural.

No, no, hey, don’t even think about following me,” Karagash whispered in fear. “As soon as Dev sees you, he will immediately destroy you.”

But Ural insisted on his own and carried the bag of stones to the cubs of the nine-headed deva. As soon as Ural dumped pebbles in front of the deva cubs, they began their games, throwing and throwing pebbles at each other. And while these cubs were busy with their game, Ural took a stone from horse head, hung him on a rope on the nearest tree, and he quietly walked to the cave, in front of which the nine-headed deva himself lay.

The deva's children very quickly ran out of all the stones. And then they saw a large stone suspended from a tree. One of them, becoming interested, hit the stone. He swayed and hit the cub on the head. The deva cub got angry and hit the stone again with all his might. But this time the stone hit him with such force that the cub's head split open, as if eggshell. His brother, seeing this, decided to take revenge, and also hit the stone out of anger. But he too suffered the same fate. And just like that, one after another, all nine children of the nine-headed deva died.

When Ural approached the cave, he saw that a nine-headed deva was lying right on the road in front of the cave, and everything around was strewn with human bones. Ural shouted from afar:

Hey, Dev, give way, I'm going to the Living Spring.

But the dev didn’t even move and continued to lie there. Ural shouted again. Then the dev with one breath pulled Ural to him. But Ural was not afraid and shouted to the deva:

Will we fight or fight!?

Dev had already seen a lot of brave guys and therefore was not very surprised.

“I don’t care,” he said. “Whatever death you want to die, that’s how you’ll die.”

They climbed to the highest place and began to fight. They fight, they fight, now the sun is approaching noon, and they are still fighting. And so the dev tore Ural off the ground and threw him. The Urals sunk waist-deep into the ground. Dev pulled him out and started fighting again. Here the dev again raised and threw the Urals. The Ural went into the ground up to the neck. Dev pulled Ural out by the ears and they continued to fight. And the day is already approaching evening. It’s already twilight, and the Ural and the dev are still fighting.

And then the dev, who had already believed in his invincibility, relaxed for a moment, and in that moment the Urals threw the dev so hard that he entered the ground up to his waist. Ural pulled out the dev and threw him again. Dev went into the ground up to his neck and only nine of his heads remained sticking out above the ground. Ural pulled the dev out again and this time threw him so hard that the entire dev went underground. Thus came the end of the evil deva.

The next day, poor Karagash decided to at least collect and bury the bones of the Urals and climbed the mountain. But when she saw that the hero was alive, she cried with joy. And then she asked in surprise:

Where did the dev go?

“And I put the deva under this mountain,” said Ural.

And then, three steps away from them, clouds of hot smoke suddenly began to emerge from under the mountain.

“What is this?” Karagash asked in surprise.

“In this very place I drove the deva into the ground,” answered Ural. “Apparently the earth itself disdains to keep this reptile inside itself.” Therefore, this deva is burning right there, inside the earth, and the smoke is coming out.

Since that time, this mountain has not stopped burning. And the people called this mountain Yangantau - Burning Mountain.

After dealing with the deva, Ural did not remain on the mountain for long. Having pulled out three hairs, he set them on fire, and Akbuzat immediately appeared in front of him. Having planted Karagash in front of him, Ural drove further along the road to the Living Spring.

They drove through wide fields and deep gorges, through rocks and impassable swamps, and finally Akbuzat stopped and said to the Urals:

We are already very close to the Living Spring. But on the way to the spring lies a twelve-headed deva. You'll have to fight him. Take three hairs from my mane. When you need me, fire them up and I’ll come right away.

Ural took three hairs from the tulpar's mane, and Akbuzat immediately disappeared from sight.

Wait for me here,” said Ural Karagash. “I will leave you my kurai.” If everything goes well with me, milk will drip from the kurai. And if I feel bad, blood will drip.

Ural said goodbye to the girl and went to the place where the dev lay.

And now the Living Spring is already babbling ahead, flowing out of the rock and immediately gurgling into the ground. And around the spring they turn white human bones. And this water, which can heal the hopelessly ill and make the healthy immortal, lies and is guarded by the eldest twelve-headed deva.

Ural, seeing the deva, shouted:

Hey, Dev, I came for living water. Let me pass!

This Dev has already seen many brave warriors, but none of them have yet been able to defeat him. That’s why the deva didn’t even raise an eyebrow at Ural’s voice. Ural shouted again, this time even louder. Then the deva opened his eyes and with his breath began to attract the Urals to himself. Ural didn’t even have time to blink an eye when he found himself in front of the deva. But the Urals were not afraid and challenged the deva:

Shall we fight or fight?

“I don’t care,” answered the dev. “Whatever death you want to die, that’s how you’ll die.”

Well, then hold on! - said Ural, pulled out his lightning sword and waved it several times in front of the deva’s eyes. The devas even went blind for a few moments from the lightning that rained down from the sword.

Well, hold on! - Ural shouted again and began to cut off the deva’s heads one by one with his sword.

And Karagash at this time, without taking her eyes off, looked at the kurai that the Urals had left her. She saw milk dripping from the kurai and was very happy.

Here, hearing the desperate roar of the twelve-headed deva, all the smaller devas began to come running to his aid. But the sword in the hands of the Urals continued to cut right and left, and the hand of the Urals did not know fatigue. As soon as he crushed this entire pack of devas into pieces, a great variety of various small evil spirits appeared - genies, goblins, ghouls. They pressed their whole crowd on the Urals so much that blood dripped from the kurai that remained with Karagash.

Karagash, seeing the blood, became worried. And then, without thinking twice, she took the kurai and began to play some unpleasant to the ear melody, which she heard while in slavery to the nine-headed deva. And it turns out that that’s all that little evil spirits need. Having heard their native tune, they, forgetting about everything in the world, began to dance. The Urals, taking advantage of this respite, defeated this entire pack and went to the Living Spring to draw its water. But when he approached the spring, he saw that the spring had dried up and there was not a drop of water left in it. All these devas and other evil spirits drank all the water from the spring so that this water would never reach people. The Urals sat for a long time in front of the dry spring, but no matter how much he waited, not a single drop of water leaked out of the rock.

The Urals were very upset. But still, the fact that the Urals defeated all these devas bore fruit. Immediately the forests turned green, birds began to sing, nature came to life, smiles and joy appeared on people’s faces.

And Ural put Karagash on Akbuzat in front of him and rushed along the way back. And in the place where the Urals left a pile of the bodies of the devas, chopped up by him, appeared high mountain. People named this mountain Yamantau. And to this day nothing grows on this mountain, and there are no animals or birds.

Ural married Karagash, and they began to live in peace and harmony. And three sons were born to them - Idel, Yaik and Sakmar.

And Death now rarely came to these lands, because she was afraid of the lightning sword of the Urals. And so there soon became so many people in these parts that they no longer had enough water. Ural, seeing this, pulled out his all-crushing sword from its sheath, waved it three times above his head and hit the rock with all his strength.

This will be the beginning big water- said Ural.

Then Ural called his eldest son, Idel, and told him:

Go, son, wherever your eyes look, walk among people. But don't turn back until you come to a deep river.

And Idel went south, leaving deep traces behind him. And Ural saw his son off with his eyes full of tears, because Ural knew that his son would never come back.

Idel walks forward, walks, and then he turns right and goes west. Idel walked for months and years and finally saw before him big river. Idel turned back and saw that a wide river was flowing in his footsteps and began to flow into the river to which Idel had come. This is how the beautiful river Agidel, glorified in songs, arose.

On the same day that Idel went to his long journey, Ural sent the rest of his sons on the road with the same condition. But younger sons The Urals turned out to be less patient. They did not have the endurance to go the whole way alone, and they decided to go together. But, be that as it may, the people remained forever grateful not only to Idel, but also to Yaik and Sakmar, and wished for long years life to Ural for raising such glorious sons.

But the Urals, already completing the one hundred and first year of its life, did not have long to live. Death, which had long been waiting for the Urals to completely weaken, approached very close to it. And now the Ural lies on its deathbed. People gathered from all sides to say goodbye to their beloved hero. And then a middle-aged man appeared among the people, walked to the Urals and said:

You, our father and our dear hero! On the same day when you lay down on your bed, at the request of the people I went to the Living Spring. It turned out that it was not completely dry yet, and there was still some living water left there. For seven days and seven nights I sat at the Living Spring and collected the remnants of its water drop by drop. And so I managed to collect this horn of living water. We all ask you, our dear hero, drink this water without a trace and live forever, not knowing death, for the happiness of all the people.

With these words, he handed the horn to the Urals.

Drink every last drop, Ural hero! - people around asked.

Ural slowly rose to his feet, took right hand horn with living water and, bowing his head, expressed his gratitude to the people. Then he sprinkled this water all around and said:

I am alone, there are many of you. Not me, but ours motherland must be immortal. And may people live happily on this earth.

And everything around came to life. Various birds and animals appeared, everything around blossomed, and unprecedented berries and fruits filled in, numerous streams and rivers came out of the ground and began to flow into Agidel, Yaik and Sakmar.

While people looked around in surprise and admiration, the Urals died.

The people buried the Urals with great respect on the most elevated place. And each person brought a handful of earth to his grave. And so, on the site of his grave, a high mountain grew, and people named this mountain in honor of their hero - Uraltau. And in the depths of this mountain the sacred bones of the Ural Batyr are still kept. All the countless treasures of this mountain are the precious bones of the Urals. And what we call oil today is the never-drying blood of a hero.

These steppe expanses and forests framing the steep slopes of the Ural Mountains have recently changed their ancient appearance. Oil rigs steel business card republics where more than 15 million tons of oil are currently produced per year. Oil is a symbol of Bashkir treasure. At modern methods production, oil no longer allows it to gush out of the ground so openly. But once upon a time, “black gold” itself came to the surface and in ancient Bashkir legends oil was called “the oil of the earth.”

Many thousands of years ago, this “oil of the earth” was formed from the spilled magical blood of a hero whose name was Ural-batyr. But he gave his people more than just the opportunity to enjoy oil wealth. Thanks to the Urals, a whole beautiful world with all its mountains, meadows, rivers and underground treasures. But the main legacy of the epic hero is the rules of life for descendants, the secret of happiness for all people. What made Ural Batyr famous, that even the mountains bear his name? And what do we know now about this national hero?

In 1910, teacher and collector folk tales Mukhametsha Burangulov went on an expedition to the Itkul volost of the Orenburg province. Today this is the Baymaksky district of Bashkortostan. His attention was attracted by the ancient tales of the Sesen poets, filled with the spirit of the mystical past and revealing the secrets of the creation of the world.

The Bashkirs have always had great respect for the sesen. These poets not only composed, but also memorized, performed, and passed on ancient tales from generation to generation. And the saesengs accompanied their performances with the abrupt sounds of ancient musical instrument dumbaras. In addition, it was believed that ancient tunes also had a healing effect on listeners, which, of course, only added to the general respect of the saesengs.

The tales of the sesen impressed Burangulov so much that he thanked the poets by giving them his horse. He had to walk home, but what did that mean compared to the newfound treasure? It was not only about unique ethnographic material, but also about mysterious information, which took Burangulov more than 10 years to process. At the beginning of the 20s, a written version of the epic about the batyr first appeared, i.e. about the hero Ural and his glorious exploits.

In ancient, ancient times, there lived an old man and an old woman. And they had two sons. The eldest's name was Shulgen and the youngest's was Ural. When they grew up, the father saddled two lions and sent his sons to wander. He asked to find them living water, which will give immortality to man and nature, and destroy death itself. And the brothers left their father's house. Their journey was long. Along the way, dangers and temptations awaited the brothers. Shulgen could not stand all the tests, he betrayed good and went over to the side of evil. Shulgen became the main enemy of his younger brother and one of the main warriors dark forces. But the Urals remained faithful to the behests of their father.

Day and night, year after year, Ural Batyr performed his feats. He defeated the bloodthirsty king Katila, the king of the snakes Kahkahu and finally found living water. He fought with the evil divas and their leader Azraka and finally met his brother in battle. And all this so that people are happy, so that grief and death leave the earth forever.

It would seem that almost every nation has similar epics. But Ural Batyr clearly stands out from his fellow heroes. And the fact that his path is a search for absolute good and the fact that in today's Bashkiria the epic about his exploits is more than just a fairy tale.

In one of the battles, Ural killed the main evil diva Azraka. He cut off his head with a diamond sword and when the diva fell, it seemed that the whole world shook. His huge, terrible body cut the expanse of water in two. In that place a mountain rose. Big Yamantau is the very mountain that, according to legend, arose from dead body Azraki. This is the most high point Southern Bashkortostan. The name Big Yamantau means Big Bad or Evil Mountain. Among the local population she always enjoyed notoriety. It is believed that something strange is constantly happening in her area. The horses never returned from there. Previously, many ferocious bears lived there, and even now no one dares to predict the weather on the slopes of the mountain, and they even say that by climbing Yamantau you can bring trouble upon yourself.

In these places, the Urals performed their last, most heroic feat. Entrance to the mysterious dark cave Shulgan-Tash. There are two underground lakes here - a round lake with stagnant water (aka Dead) and a blue lake (it is considered alive). It is fed by a river whose waters flow deep underground. This river is also called Shulgen. Why does the reserve, the caves, and the river still preserve the name of the older brother of the Urals?

When the Urals fought with Shulgen, he, in order to avoid complete defeat, along with his servants, evil divas and other evil spirits, dived into the local bottomless lake. Then Ural Batyr decided to drink all the water from the lake filled with snakes and demons. Ural drank water for a long time, but even he was unable to cope with this task. In addition, along with the water, the Urals swallowed evil divas. They tore his noble heart from the inside.

According to legend, the batyr also had living water and it could heal him and even give him immortality. But he didn’t keep a single drop for himself when he sprinkled it on nature and said that except for her, no one should live forever. So he revived the land depleted by evil, but he himself fell in the last battle with the enemies of humanity. But why didn’t legend make its hero immortal? Why did the Urals have to perish in the minds of the people?

The life and work of the Urals was continued by his descendants. The children tried to make people's lives even better. The warriors went on long journeys to look for the source of happiness. With their diamond swords they cut through the mountains and where they passed, large rivers formed.

The ancestors of the Bashkirs settled on the banks of four rivers. Later, the rivers were named after the children of Ural Batyr and his nephew: Sakmar, Yaik (Ural), Nugush, Idel (Agidel). This is how the world in which the Bashkirs still live appeared. And all this thanks heroic deeds Ural Batyr.

But the epic itself and the image of the hero have posed many mysteries to researchers, around which there are heated debates. Here is just one of them: when exactly did the first stories about exploits appear? legendary hero?

One of the legends of the epic says that Shulgen, who went over to the side of evil, arranged global flood to destroy humanity. The Urals entered into battle with the evil divas subordinate to Shulgen. While he was fighting, people were fleeing the water by climbing high mountains.

And water covered the whole earth
The land disappeared under it forever
People made boats for themselves
Didn't die, didn't drown in the water
To the mountain rising from the waters
The saved people were chosen.

Isn't it a very familiar story? Of course, this is very similar to the biblical legend of Noah and his ark. And therefore, some researchers believe that the epic Ural Batyr and the Bible arose from a single source. They find in Bashkir epic parallels with ancient Sumerian myths and claim that these myths are almost the same age. So, let's try to establish when the legends about the most glorious Ural Batyr arose.

Every resident of Ufa knows one of famous buildings made of glass and concrete. This is one of the most modern hippodromes. On weekends, serious sporting passions reign here, but now we are not interested in the breeds of horses and the results of races or bets, but in the name of the hippodrome. It's called Akbuzat. And this is not at all accidental.

Akbuzat is the winged horse of Ural Batyr and his true friend. According to legend, Akbuzat himself had to agree to leave with the batyr, and Ural had to prove his right to be a rider on a wonderful horse. When our hero got tired, his faithful horse carried him out of the battle. When the batyr gained strength, Akbuzat again rushed into battle with a whirlwind. He did not burn in fire and did not drown in water and blinded everyone with his beauty.

According to legend, all the horses that live on earth today are descendants of Akbuzat. They remember the order of the faithful horse Ural Batyr to always and at all times serve people faithfully and truly. But the life of the legendary horse itself was not easy. The evil brother of the Urals, Shulgen, managed to steal Akbuzat from the hero and hid him at the bottom of the same underground lake where he himself was hiding.

It would seem that this is completely fairy tale story. Well, what can be realistic in a story about a horse being imprisoned under water for many years? Of course, these are all legends and traditions, but...

At the end of the 50s of the last century, the Shulgen-tash cave presented scientists with a real sensation. From it appears the first version of the origin of the Ural Batyr.

Later, historian Vyacheslav Kotov, with the help modern technology explored images in the famous cave that were not visible to the naked eye. He noticed that the focus of primitive artists was the horse. The researcher saw in this the trinity of the universe: the top horse in the picture with a trapezoid on its back is a winged horse - a symbol of the sky and the sun. In another composition, the hero and his horse are seen fighting the dark forces of the underworld.

Another interesting detail is that Ural Batyr and other heroes of the epic travel, from time to time, on a flying lion. This of course too mythical image, but where did the ancestors of the Bashkirs, who lived in the Volga region and Southern Urals, could they know about lions even if they don’t fly?

IN Bashkir folklore There are two proverbs directly related to the lion. They sound something like this: “If you sit astride a lion, then let your whip be a saber” and “If a lion goes hunting, then he will not return without prey.” But proverbs are not created on empty space.

Research by paleontologists indirectly proves that prehistoric cave lions, which were much larger than their current descendants, could be found not only in Africa, but also in Europe, the Urals and even Siberia. In addition, they could jump further and higher than modern lions. Maybe that’s why ancient people encountered these formidable creatures and came up with the myth of flying lions.

In the archives of Ufimsky scientific center The RAS houses the oldest copy of the epic manuscript. On Bashkir language It was also printed in Latin script about 100 years ago. But how exactly this written text arose is probably the most big mystery this whole story. The appearance of the written version of Ural Batyr is a real detective story.

By official version Ural Batyr was written down in 1910 by Mukhametsha Burangulov, but no one has ever seen its original handwritten recording. It is believed that she got lost during the searches of Burangulov. At Soviet power he was arrested several times as an enemy of the people.

Skeptics object - the records were not lost anywhere because they simply did not exist. And Mukhametsha Burangulov was the real author of the Ural Batyr. So, did he really just make up all the stories about the glorious exploits of the batyr and the image of the main character in general, and all his stories are just a stylization of the ancient Bashkir epic, which the ancestors of the Bashkirs simply did not have.

Journalist and public figure Karim Yaushev suggested that the Ural Batyr epic cannot be considered authentic folk work, but is literary composition writer Burangulov. Or he reworked together all the scattered tales of the southeastern Bashkirs. But why should Burangulov write a poem about the Ural Batyr? Perhaps it was a matter of personal creative ambitions, or perhaps political reasons. One version is that he did this on instructions from the Soviet leadership of Bashkiria, which sought to create new story Bashkir people. True, he later suffered for this same reason - he was declared a nationalist.

Ural Batyr was first published in the Bashkir language in 1968. And in Russian even later – seven years later. Since then, many editions and translations of the epic have been published, but disputes about it do not stop. In general, Ural Batyr is the only one epic heroes around which the spears break with such ferocity with which, probably, the hero himself fought with his enemies.

So did the Ural Batyr exist? There is little specific human information in the legends about him, and there are no ancient images of him. But perhaps his appearance is not so important, because the legend gives the Urals all positive qualities, making his image and life path an example to follow. That is why the presentation of the entire epic from beginning to end was considered by the Bashkirs to be the most important part of the rite of passage. adult life.

Here is an example of respect for other people's lives and nobility even towards defeated enemies. One day, the evil and bloodthirsty king Katilla sent a gigantic bull against the Urals. But it was not there. No matter how the bull puffed and tried, no matter how he struggled, he didn’t try to free himself, he couldn’t find the strength, he sank knee-deep into the ground. But having defeated the bull, Ural Batyr took pity on him and left him alive. Since then, the bulls have crooked horns and hooves cracked into two halves and have not grown. front tooth. All this is the legacy of the lost battle of the distant ancestor Ural Batyr.

Of course, the circumstances of the fight with the bull and the size of the batyr’s horned opponent in the legends are truly mythological in nature. However, this is probably the most realistic of all the exploits of the Ural Batyr. Since ancient times, the strongest men from different nations they measured their strength with bulls and information about such battles is found not only in myths, but also in Roman historical chronicles. Perhaps a certain brave fighter was one of the prototypes of the heroic Urals, or this myth about fighting a giant bull came to the Bashkirs from other peoples. So, a third version of the origin of our hero appears.

The famous historian Tatishchev cites in his book that the northern Scythians had Uranus as their first sovereign. This suggests that there really was some kind of the most ancient state whose ruler was Uranus or, as we say today, Ural-Batyr. His deification took place, as a result of which he became one of the gods, first here in the Urals and then was transferred to Ancient Greece and as a result became the initial ancient Greek god.

However, perhaps this is too bold a version. It is not shared even by the majority of those scientists who believe that the legend of the Ural Batyr is a genuine epic of the Bashkir people. The prevailing opinion is that the glorious batyr is a purely mythical figure. This also distinguishes him from his colleagues from other legends, say, from the Russian hero Ilya Muromets. Although the Ural Batyr surpassed many in the number and scale of his feats famous heroes, because in fact he created the whole world.

When Ural died, having accomplished his last feat, people were overcome with grief. But then they decided to preserve his memory forever. The people buried Ural at the highest point with great respect. Each of the people brought a handful of earth to his grave. This is how a huge mountain grew. Over time, she shone like the sun - the body of the Urals turned into gold and gems, and blood into the oil of the earth - oil. Well, the mountains began to be called in his honor - the Urals.

For many centuries, in any school in the world, during geography lessons, children have learned that the border between Europe and Asia runs along the huge Ural ridge. So the name ancient hero becomes known to billions of inhabitants of our planet. These mighty peaks are an eternal monument to the exploits of the Ural Batyr, who forever gave the Bashkir land and people incredible beauty of nature, inexhaustible wealth of mineral resources and great history.

A long time ago, when there were no Ural Mountains yet, there lived an old man and an old woman. And they had a son named Ural. When Ural grew up and became a real hero, he began to take care of his parents - go hunting, get food. That's how they lived.

During the day, Ural killed birds and animals in the forest, and in the evening he brought the prey home and lit a fire. While the meat for dinner was being cooked in the cauldron, the batyr sat by the fire and cut a pipe - kurai - from a dry stem. Then he brought the pipe to his lips and extracted wonderful sounds from it, similar either to the murmur of a stream or to a distant forest echo. A wondrous melody filled the air - and the birds in the forest fell silent, the leaves on the trees froze, the rivers stopped running. The native land was falling into sleep.
But one day the Urals went hunting and saw that the mighty trees began to dry out, the tall grasses turned yellow and drooped, and the fast rivers dried up. Even the air became so heavy that it was difficult to breathe. Everyone in the area was slowly dying - animals, birds, and people. No one could do anything against Death.
The Urals thought: how to continue to live? And he decided to fight Death and defeat it forever. He put a crust of bread, a handful of salt and his magic pipe in a canvas bag. He asked his father for a diamond sword, which struck lightning with each swing. Handing over the weapon, the father warned:
- No one on earth can resist this sword! But the trouble is - he is powerless before Death. Death can be destroyed by immersing it entirely in the spring of living water, which is located behind the dark forests, behind the wide fields, behind the rocky deserts. But you have no other choice.
The Ural set off. On the third day I found myself at the crossroads of three roads. There I met a gray-bearded old man.
“Grandfather,” Ural turned to the old man, “which way to go to the spring of living water?”
- Why do you need a spring?
- I want to defeat Death, but without living water this is impossible.
“I’ve been standing here for forty years, showing travelers the way to the spring for forty years,” the old man shook his head. “But no one has come back yet.”
- I still dare!
- Then I'll tell you what. You will walk along this road and you will see a herd. There will be only one white horse in the herd. Try to ride him, and he will serve you well.
Indeed, the Urals had not walked along the road even seven miles when he saw a herd in a field. Among the bay and black horses stood a tall horse - dazzlingly white as snow. He was so handsome that the hero could not take his eyes off him. Ural crept up to the stallion and quickly jumped onto him. The horse became furious, hit with one hoof - the earth shook, hit with the other hoof - a column of dust rose. The horse reared up and threw the rider to the ground. “Proud horse caught! - Ural decided. “I’ll try to tame him not by force, but by affection.”
Got it out canvas bag the crust, salted it heavily and handed it to the stallion - the horse gratefully accepted the bread and offered its mighty back to the hero. Ural sat down on the stallion and lightly pressed his heels on his sides. The horse rushed across wide fields, through rocky deserts, like a white blizzard.

And the Ural grabbed his mane so tightly that he couldn’t tear it off. Finally, the horse stopped in the middle of a dark dense forest and said:
- Ahead is a cave where a monster lives - a nine-headed deva. He guards the road to the spring. You, Ural, will have to fight him. Pluck three hairs from my mane. As soon as I am needed, they will fall, and I will immediately appear before you.
The hero pulled out three hairs from his mane - the horse took off under the clouds and disappeared into the dark thicket. Before the dust had time to settle from under the hooves, a shadow similar to ebony. The hero took a closer look - it was a beautiful girl walking, bent over, dragging a sack.
- Hello beauty! - Ural smiled. - What is your name? Where are you going, what are you carrying?
- My name is Karagash. A few days ago, a nine-headed deva kidnapped me and made me his slave. Now, for his amusement, I carry river pebbles to the cave from morning to night.
- Drop the bag, beauty, and show me where the monster lives!
“Dev lives behind that mountain where the sun rises,” Karagash waved her hand. - But don’t even think about approaching him. He will destroy you!
“You wait for me here,” said Ural. - I will leave you my pipe - kurai. If everything goes well with me, milk will drip from the kurai. And if I feel bad, blood will drip.
The hero said goodbye to the girl and went on his way.
When Ural finally approached the cave, he saw that a nine-headed deva was lying right in front of the cave, and human bones were lying around him.
“Hey, Dev,” the batyr shouted. - Get out of the way, I'm going to the living water.
But the monster didn’t even move. Ural shouted again. Then the dev with one breath pulled Ural to him. But Ural was not afraid and shouted to the deva:
- Shall we fight or fight?
“I don’t care,” the deva opened his mouth. - The death you want to die is the one you will die.
They climbed a high mountain and began to fight. The sun is already approaching noon, and they are all struggling. And so the dev tore Ural off the ground and threw him. The batyr went waist-deep into the ground. Dev pulled it out and threw it again. The batyr entered the ground up to his neck. Dev pulled Ural out again, and they continued to fight. And the day is already approaching evening.
And then the deva, already feeling the closeness of victory, relaxed for a moment. At that moment, the Urals threw the deva so that he entered the ground up to his waist. The batyr pulled out the dev and threw him again. Dev went into the ground up to his neck, and only nine of his heads remained sticking out.
Ural pulled Dev out again and this time threw him with such force that the Dev fell into the ground forever.
The next day, poor Karagash climbed the mountain to bury the heroic remains. But when she saw that the hero was alive, she cried with joy. And then she asked:
- Where did the dev go?
“And I put the deva under this mountain,” said Ural.
And suddenly clouds of smoke began to emerge from under the mountain. It was the defeated deva who was burning underground. Since that time, people have called this mountain Yangan-tau - Burning Mountain.
The Urals did not stay on Burning Mountain for long. Having pulled out three hairs, he set them on fire, and immediately a White horse. Having seated Karagash in front of him, the batyr rode on.
They drove through wide fields and deep gorges. Finally, the white horse stopped and said to the Urals:
- We are already close to the spring of living water. He is guarded by a twelve-headed deva. You'll have to fight him. Take three hairs from my mane. When you need me, fire them up and I’ll come right away.
The Ural pulled out three hairs from its mane - the horse took off under the clouds and disappeared behind a rock.
The batyr ordered the girl to stay in place, occasionally look to see what would drip from the magic pipe kurai - blood or milk, and he himself went to the place where the twelve-headed deva lay.
And now a spring of living water flashed ahead, and one could hear healing water flowing from the rock, one drop of which could heal the sick and immortalize healthy person. But this water was guarded by a twelve-headed deva.
“Hey, Dev,” the batyr shouted. - Get out of the way, I came for living water!
Dev didn’t even raise an eyebrow at Ural’s voice. Batyr shouted again. Then the deva opened his eyes and with his breath began to attract the hero to himself. But the Urals were not afraid and issued a challenge:
- Shall we fight or fight?
“I don’t care,” Dev opened his mouth. - The death you want to die is the one you will die.
“Okay,” said the hero and waved his diamond sword in front of Dev’s eyes. The deva almost went blind from the flashing lightning.
- I will finish you off with this sword! - Ural shouted and began to cut off Dev's heads - one after another, one after another.
Here, hearing the desperate roar of the elder deva, small devas began to run to his aid from all sides. As soon as the batyr dealt with them, a great variety of small evil spirits appeared. She leaned so heavily on Ural that blood dripped from the kurai that remained with Karagash.
Seeing the blood, the girl became worried. Without thinking twice, she put the pipe to her lips and began to play a melody that she had once heard in the cave of the nine-headed deva.
Hearing their native tune, the little evil spirits began to dance. The Ural took advantage of the respite and defeated this entire pack. And in the place where the pile of hacked devas remained, the high mountain Yaman-tau - the Bad Mountain - appeared. Until now, nothing grows on this mountain and there are no animals or birds.
Having finished with the evil spirits, the batyr went to the spring. Alas, there was not a drop of living water left in the spring - the devas drank it. No matter how much Ural sat in front of the dry spring, he did not wait for a single drop.
And yet the victory of the Urals over evil spirits bore fruit. The forests turned green, the birds began to sing in them, nature came to life, and smiles appeared on people’s faces. And Death began to come to these lands less often, because he was afraid of the hero’s sword.

And the Ural, having mounted Karagash in front of him on his faithful horse, rushed home. They got married and began to live in peace and love. And they had three sons - Idel, Yaik and Sakmar. And the people were grateful to the Urals for raising such glorious heroes.
But the Urals, completing one hundred and first year of life, did not have long to live. Death had been waiting for a long time for the hero to weaken. And here Ural lies on his deathbed. People gathered from all sides to say goodbye to their beloved hero.
Then one young man approached the Urals and handed him a horn of water:
- Our dear hero! On the day when you lay down on your bed, I went to the spring. It turned out that there was still some living water left there. I sat at the spring for seven days and collected its remains drop by drop. I ask you, drink this water and live forever for the joy of everyone.
Ural slowly stood up, gratefully accepted the horn, sprinkled living water all around and said:
- Let not me, but our native land be immortal. And may people live happily on this earth.

“Ural-Batyr” is the largest work of the Bashkir folk epic, created and enriched over the centuries, starting from the era of the decomposition of the primitive communal system and up toXIXcenturies..

Compositionally it consists of three parts, telling about the actions of three generations of heroes. First, it tells about the first people Yanbird and Yanbik, about the birth of their sons Ural and Shulgan. As the plot develops, there is a transition from archaic myth to a concrete historical understanding of reality. Ural and Shulgan leave home in search of immortality. Along the way, Ural Batyr destroys the cruel conquering khan Katil and the kingdom of the king of snakes Kahkakha; kills Azraku - the king of the Underground and Underwater Kingdom; fights with brother Shulgan, who has gone over to the side of Evil; sprinkles the land of the Bashkirs with living water and thus brings immortality to it. The third part of the epic tells about the birth of the sons of Ural and Shulgan, who continue the work of the Urals - they fight with divas, extract living water. The events in the epic end with the destruction of the Urals. After his death, the body of the batyr turns into Mount Uraltau, symbolizing the homeland of the Bashkirs.

The unfading universal significance of the Kubair "Ural-Batyr" and greatest wisdom its creators lies in the idea that human immortality does not lie in endless longevity, but in his good deeds for the benefit of the whole world, the whole people.

Ural-batyr

About how old man Yanbirde and old woman Yanbika lived; about how their eldest son Shulgen could not restrain himselffather's orders, did not heed his mother's words; like the king's daughterSamrau named Khumay was captured by them

In ancient times, long ago

There was, they say, one place

Where no one has gone before

(And in the whole world no one

I didn’t know, I didn’t know about that dry land).

Surrounded on four sides

This place is sea water.

Since time immemorial she has lived

There's a family there:

An old man named Yanbirde

With Yanbiko, his old woman.

Wherever they want to go,

There were no obstacles in their way.

How did they end up on earth,

Where is their mother, their father, where is their native land,

They say they forgot themselves.

Yes or no, off to the sea side

They planted the seed of life [...]

Two children were born to them,

Two sons are daring.

They called the eldest Shulgen,

They named the younger one Ural.

So the four of them lived,

Not seeing people, in a remote place.

They had no livestock of their own,

Didn't acquire good things

They didn't even hang up the boiler

Over a blazing fire;

Didn't know what diseases were

Death was unknown to them;

They thought: for everyone in the world

They themselves are death.

No horses were saddled for hunting,

They didn’t yet know the bow and arrows,

Tamed and held

Lev Arslan to carry them,

A falcon to beat the birds,

A leech to suck the blood of animals,

Pike so that there are enough fish for them [...]

Well, black swamp leeches

Animals were stabbed into herbivores,

So that from the strained blood

Make your own drink.

To your young children,

That they didn’t hunt for a living,

Drink blood, eat head or heart

It was strictly forbidden [...]

And then one fine day

An old man with his old woman

The two of us went hunting

Leaving the home to his sons [...]

Shulgen didn’t think for a long time,

At least he knew about his father’s prohibition:

Don't joke with that sink

Never drink from it,

Still, he began to persuade his brother,

He incited him in every possible way [...]

“Even if that blood is very sweet

I won't take a sip

Until I grow up as an egg,

Until I find out the reason for the ban,

Until I walk across this world

And I’m not sure what in the world

There is no more trace of Death,

I won’t hit anyone with Sukmar,

I will not kill any creature,

Blood sucked by a leech

I won’t drink - that’s my word!” […]

Hearing these words,

Shulgen thought at first,

But he decided later

Persevere again.

He drank the blood, and, fearing retribution,

He decided to close Ural’s mouth:

And he made his brother swear

What he won’t tell his father.

They returned home with rich booty

An old man and an old woman, they say.

As usual, the whole family

They gutted the game, they say

And before a rich meal

We sat down, pleased with ourselves [...]

“Father, if you follow Death,

Will it be possible to find her?

If you manage to overtake, tell me

Is it possible to smash her head?”

“Death is treacherous. She never

It did not appear openly to the human eye.

That creature lives invisible -

Nobody knows when it will attack.

There is only one possibility here:

In the kingdom of divas, on a distant land,

The Living Spring flows.

Someone will drink from it - and instantly

He will immortalize himself, they say,

Death will retreat, they say.”

Having told this about Death and having had enough of food, one hundredRick pulled out the shell to drink the Krivi. Seeingthat the contents of the shell had decreased, Yanbirde began to ask his sons which of them drank the blood. Shulgen began to dodge: they say, no one touched that blood. Old man Yanbirde took a stick and began to beat his sons one by one. Out of pity for his brother, the Ural also continued to remain silent, and Shulgen, unable to bear it, confessed his guilt to his father. When the old man again began to beat Shulgen, Ural grabbed his father’s hand and said these words to him:

[…] If you kill your brother today,

Tomorrow you will plunge your knife into me,

If you're left alone,

You will become a deep old man,

You will bend to death,

You won't be able to climb a lion,

Hunt in the forest, eat game,

Launch a falcon at the beast,

Give food to hunting birds -

And your lion and your dog

Won't they die of hunger here?

Will their eyes glaze over with melancholy? […]

Hearing these words, old man Yanbirde stoppedbeat Shulgen. “Death can appear invisible;It’s probably she who came, and that’s why she’s tempting me. Notmaybe so no one can see with their own eyesDeath. We must ask the animals and birds,” he thought and called the forest population

[...] Everyone reasoned in their own way,

I thought and wondered in my own way,

So, without arriving at unity,

A little while later,

They separated, they say.

The old man wilted after that,

Go hunting alone

I began to be afraid and completely lost the habit.

Somehow four of us - the whole family

Go hunting early sometimes

They set off together.

Having stuffed a lot of forest game,

They returned to their shack.

Among the prey - birds and animals -

There was a swan...

[…] She began to ask, to beg:

“I flew to see the world [...]

My father is the lord of birds -

I was looking everywhere for a couple,

But there was no such thing on earth.

To find an equal

Father rushed to heaven,

I met the Sun and Moon there,

I loved them with all my soul.

He had two children.

Neither me nor my half-sister,

Neither our father knew illness,

We did not recognize the power of death.

My father still rules there.

I appeal to you with a prayer:

Let me go,

I'm returning to my native land.

If you eat me, it won't matter

I am not destined to become food -

I will lie down inside you like a stone.

Water from the Living Brook [...]

I am the daughter of a king whose name is Samrau,

And my name is Humay [...]

Let me go,

I'm returning to my native land,

Path to the Living Spring

I can show you."

Hearing such words, Yanbirde and Yanbika began toreap advice with children. Shulgen was in favor of eating the bird. Ural is in favor of letting her go. Because of thisthey started a quarrel among themselves. The Ural took the bird,so that Shulgen wouldn’t get it, he took it aside...

When everyone started eating, the bird flappeda ditch wing - and three feathers fell out of it; When shemoistened them with blood from a broken wing, three appearedswan and took her away with them. Old men Yanbirde and YanbikaWe were very sorry that we could not find out whereThe Living Spring is flowing.

The old man immediately ordered Shulgen and Ural to sendfollow them, find the Living Spring. If Death meets you on the way, cut off its head and returncrawl home. Having placed two sons on two lions,he accompanied them on their way.

About how the Urals became famous by defeating and destroying King Katil and giving people freedom

Ural and his older brother together,

Counting the days, months, years,

Where through the black windbreak,

Where through the mountains, and where by ford -

We moved together on the same path...

They met an old man

With a white beard reaching to the ground...

“Two paths lie before you:

If you go left, you will be ahead

Laughter and carefree fun await.

There, not knowing worries and enmity,

They live in complete harmony:

Wolves and sheep in free meadows,

Foxes and chickens in dense forests,

The Samrau bird is revered with all my heart,

They don't eat meat, they don't drink blood -

They don't give way to death.

That's the kind of country there is.

To return good with good -

A custom in a blessed land.

And you’ll go right - along the entire road

Only tears and crying of people.

Full of cruelty and sorrow

That miserable side.

The treacherous king Katil rules in it,

Drinks living blood from people.

You'll see piles of bones everywhere -

This is what awaits you if you go right”...

And the Urals took the right path.

Shulgen went left […]

On the way, Ural meets two women who tell him about the atrocities that Katil and his associates are committing (ed.)

The Urals said goodbye to them,

He jumped on his lion, and headlong

To the palace where King Katil lived,

The lion galloped as fast as he could...

The king didn’t keep himself waiting either:

He was surrounded by his closest nobles;

And the four royal warriors

The path was paved for the ruler of the world.

On a wondrous throne carried by slaves,

Bishop Katil himself rode.

He was like a furious camel,

Like a bloodthirsty predator, he was...

And the people are afraid of him

He bends his head to the ground...

The Tsar's daughter chooses Ural as her groom, but Ural is in no hurry to take her husband's place and arouses the Tsar's wrath by speaking out in defense of his subjects.

"I'm still such a king

And such customs

To slaughter living people like this,

I neither saw nor heard,

Although I have seen a lot of lands.

I am looking for the villainous Death around the world,

I will take revenge on her for all mortals;

I'm not afraid of your orders,

I am not afraid of insidious death..." [...]

Eget evoked pity in everyone.

Oh, he'll be lost, he'll be lost! -

They said, crying bitterly.

And here is Katila’s daughter standing:

"Oh father, in the name of love

Don’t destroy him without a reason!”...

But her father did not listen to her,

He did not soften his black soul.

A gigantic bull appeared,

He scraped the ground, beat with his hooves,

She poured out her poisonous saliva...

“...I...destroy you

I'm not going to, little guy.

To knock you to the ground,

I won’t waste my energy, little bull.

Know that there is no creature on earth

Who would be a stronger person?

Not only you - all your descendants

From now on they will become slaves of people."

And now his Ural

He grabbed the horns and squeezed tightly;

No matter how the bull puffed or tried,

No matter how I fought or struggled,

I couldn’t find the strength to free myself -

He went knee-deep into the ground...

"The horns that I have bent,

Will remain crooked forever

The mouth from which the tooth flew out,

The hole will remain with it forever.

Cracked hooves

If they don’t grow overgrown, they will remain like that.

And your children have hooves

Will remain double forever”...

In an unequal battle, Ural defeats King Katil and his minions and marries his daughter (ed.).

About how the Urals saved Zarkum from death, how theythe two of them came to Zarkum’s father, King Kahkaha; HowUral penetrated the secret palace; about how I got marriedhe is on Gulistan

After a few days

After his magnificent wedding

He has overcome many waters, they say...

The Urals witness a fight between a huge snake and an antlered deer. Unable to defeat the deer, the snake turns to the Urals with a prayer (editor's note):

“Hey, eget, I’ll be useful to you,

Just don’t let me die here.

I am related to Kahkaha's son

And my name is Zarkum.

If you help me I can

To repay - I will not remain in debt...

Have pity on me, damn it,

Help me in misfortune,

Break off the deer antlers;

Let's go to my father together,

We’ll take whatever you want...”

Having learned the secrets of the divas, Ural

Instantly he broke off the deer's antlers.

I didn’t even have time to blink an eye -

The serpent has become a beautiful eget...

However, Zarkum, fearing that he will be punished by his father for revealing palace secrets, is plotting evil against the Urals. Together they come to the Kahkahe Palace (ed.)

...And then I saw the Urals

At the huge iron fence

Nine-headed terrible reptile

That snake lay curled up in a ball,

Protected the royal chambers...

He soared up in one leap,

Opening his mouth, hissing, they say,

He threatened to burn it down in a fire, they say.

This did not bother the Urals either,

He hit the snake on the head,

And the snake from that head

A bunch of keys fell with a clang...

The Ural cut the heart of the serpent,

Opened the palace of secrets with a key,

I found a beauty behind the door...

There, inside, he saw a throne,

He saw the pearl rod.

“Take the rod with you on the road,”

The warriors advised him in unison.

At this time the doors of the palace

The white snake opened wide.

His anger bent this way and that:

“Who dared to enter here,

Who dared to take my staff?

Not accessible to anyone?”...

Ural defeats Kahkahe, frees the people swallowed by the reptiles and marries the girl he saved named Gulistan (ed.).

About how Shulgen fell for the cunning of the king of di-vov Azraki; how he went to the land of birds Samrau;how Humay locked him in the dungeon of the palace

Shulgen, who walked to the right,

I met another old man...

[…] Along the way, when I wasn’t expecting,

He met Zarkum by chance -

He fled desperately from the Urals.

Zarkum Shulgen began to question him.

When Shulgen told everything,

That Azraki was called his son,

So Zarkum lied to Shulgen,

I promised him with an oath

Go to Azraqa together,

Receive gifts from him,

And on the slope of a steep mountain

Drink from the living spring,

To prolong life endlessly...

Zarkum entered the lord of the palace.

Somewhere near Azraki

He saw his father.

Azraka with Kahkaha

About the Urals sometimes

They were talking among themselves...

“...We need to find a person,

To use it to enter

In trust of King Samrau,

Take Akbuzat away from him...

How winter needs white snow,

So now we need a man

To Humay at any cost

I could bewitch myself;

For her to love him,

So that Akbuzat with a diamond sword

She gave it along with her.

Then, having pleased him in everything, -

Giving any beauty to him,

By giving any country,

We will find his soul,

Then we’ll beat Ural Batyr..."

Zarkum deceives Shulgan. He calls himself the son of Azraki and introduces him to the beautiful Aikhylu, introducing himself as her brother. In fact, she is Humay’s sister, kidnapped by the diva Azraki. Playing on Shulgan's envy of the glory of the Urals, Azraka sends Shulgan and Zarkum in search of Khumai and the wonderful diamond sword. They arrive at the palace of King Samrau, but Khumay recognizes Shulgan, exposes Zarkum and imprisons them in a dungeon (editor's note).

About how the Urals came to the Humay Palace; how are youfulfilling the princess’s condition - to find the Living Spring,found Humay's sister Aikhyla and brought her to the palace

The maid Humay informed that

That a certain hero came to their house.

Humay immediately recognized

In the unknown eget of the Urals,

But she didn’t tell him about this.

And he couldn’t even think about it,

What is it that Rock brought him to Khumay?

She approached the batyr,

Full of immeasurable beauty:

Vast like a waterfall

If you throw it down, it will fall to your toes

Everything is covered with coins

Flowing braid;

Black eyes burning gaze

He looks straight through his eyelashes.

Floating eyebrows above the eyes

Smile with love.

And the elastic breasts are full,

Like a river wave, it plays;

Her figure is as thin as a bee's,

Shimmers with silver;

Seeing a girl who is cheerful,

Had a friendly conversation,

The Ural did not know what to answer.

About the fact that this is Khumay,

The Ural still had no idea...

Ural tells Khumay about the search for the Living Stream. Khumay is ready to help him if he finds an unprecedented and unheard of bird that has absorbed “the tones and colors of all other birds,” and promises a wonderful Akbuz-tulpar and a diamond sword as a reward. Ural finds a bird, which turns out to be the beautiful Aikhylu, who escaped from the divas (editor's note).

About how King Samrau agreed to marry Khumay to the Urals and give him the horse Akbuzat as a giftand a damask sword; about how the Shul brothers metgene and the Urals, how the older brother turned out to be treacherous andan evil man, how he disgraced himself on the Maidan, convenedMr. Princess Khumay, how the Urals surprised everyone who gatheredon the Maidan

...And, Khumay is in love with the batyr,

She rushed to her father. There she is

Full of passion and confusion

I revealed the secret of my heart to him,

To your sovereign father.

“If you love, don’t torment your soul,

Marry him

Give him Akbuzat,

Know happiness and joy in love;

Batyr is the same as the Urals,

Become a noble mother;

In the name of Ural Batyr you

Let him go to his brother's will..."

Having met with Shulgen, Ural

He didn’t hide his joy.

Seeing my brother in front of me,

He was happy to meet such

About everything I saw on the way,

I told Shulgen in detail.

listening to my brother,

Shulgen reasoned in his own way...

But he decided to kill his brother,

Give yourself the glory of it,

Go ahead and take a beautiful wife,

Akbuzat is then saddled

And take the diamond sword for yourself.

The fact that Shulgen was constantly angry

That he wandered sullen like an ox,

That he looked at everyone suspiciously,

The Urals did not take it seriously.

“Because he was captured,

He’s uncomfortable now,”

Ural thought to himself...

“...Let's go to war against Samrau,

We'll take him away from Akbuzat,

One of us will take the magic wand,

Another one will sit on Akbuzat -

Can anyone resist such a force?

We will become the head of the country -

We must conquer everyone around us;

Let us become mighty kings!..”

“Know this, Shulgen: they will never

No harm was done to people

They did not shed anyone's blood,

They did not consider others as enemies.

It's better for the two of us to go

To the kingdom of divas and we will beat them.

All those who are languishing in terrible torment,

We will return you to freedom from prison..."

Hearing this, Shulgen fell silent,

Having finally understood my brother’s thoughts...

Seizing the moment, Shulgan declares his love to Humai. The princess promises to organize a maidan (competition), the winner of which will wield her, Akbuzat and a diamond sword (ed.)

A k b u z a t:

“Handsome will not bring me fame,

He won't climb onto my back,

I recognize only courage and strength...

To the bow of the golden saddle

The sword is attached like a wing...

That diamond sword will never melt.

Nothing can break it

Dull the strong blade.

If a warrior entering into a dispute

Will not throw above the mountains

The weight is seventy batmans,

Then he won’t catch it with three fingers,

Let him not call himself a hero, -

He will not take a diamond sword.

If he is not such a strong man,

A worthy friend will not be mine..."

Shulgen approached the stone,

I began to feel from different sides,

I realized that the stone is very heavy,

I'm so tense that I'm up to my knees

He went into the ground where he stood.

I've been pushing for a month, they say

I've been pushing all year, they say

Pushed with both hands -

Only the stone did not move;

Finally exhausted

He fell powerless from his feet.

Humai looked at the Urals,

“Well, now you, hero,” she said;

The Urals have approached the stone, they say.

I was sad and filled with shame

For his brother was put to shame.

He hit the stone with his fist,

He was torn out of the ground with a jerk,

And then he grabbed that stone,

Launched into the blue sky -

Accurately shot, he soared

And disappeared into the heavenly space...

Ural offered one hand,

Caught a falling stone.

“Which side of Azraq?” - asked

And when they showed him

Towards the country of Azraqi

The stone launched as hard as it could [...]

Ural marries Humay. To reassure Shulgen, who has suffered a fiasco, they decide to marry him to Aikhyla. Shulgen, seeing her, understands that he was deceived by Azraqa and Zarkum, but is afraid that Khumay will find out about his insidious plans (editor's note).

About how he stole a magic wand andhaving caused a storm and flood with his might, Shulgenwanted to destroy people, as he escaped with Zarkumom to the king of divas Azrak; about how the Ural killed Azrakuand other divas, as he created from their mangled bodiesmountain ranges

When Humay returned to the palace,

She went down to Zarkum;

The light suddenly dimmed for Shulgen:

What if Zarkum reveals the secret?

This promises him a lot of trouble...

While Humay was talking to Zarkum,

Then she came out of the dungeon,

Shulgen found out about everything

And he took the magic wand into his hands...

He hit the ground with his staff,

Flooded it all with water,

Shulgen plunged the human race into horror.

Having seen such a change,

Zarkum turned into a big fish...

The Ural guessed that

That my own brother turned out to be an enemy.

When the water gradually receded,

When Shulgen is full of poison and evil,

I realized that the power of the rod is weak,

To resist the horse,

Then I went with Zarkum again

To seek salvation in Azrak...

And trouble came to earth:

It was all flooded with water...

The Urals did not flinch in the face of trouble,

Before the fiery veil.

He quickly jumped on Akbuzat,

He immediately grabbed the diamond sword,

To the insidious divas at that very moment

Declared war to the death...

The Urals fought for days on end,

The Urals fought for nights without sleep.

When he was engulfed in battle,

When I crushed my enemies in shoals,

Azrak met him -

And the two of them clashed...

Azraki's sword fell into the water -

The whole world seemed to tremble;

This is how Ural killed Azraku.

His huge, terrible body

The expanse of water was split in two;

In that place a mountain rose,

So that people can get there,

Rest and gain strength.

And the Ural galloped forward;

His horse cut through the abyss of water.

Where he galloped, a sure support

High mountains rose

Which is no water

I could never flood;

Everyone was happy about the mountains that appeared

Both old and young climbed them.

About how his sons came to Ural Batyr:Yaik - from the daughter of King Katil, Nugush - from Gulistan.Idel - from Khumay, son of Shulgen Sakmar, bornfrom the daughter of the Moon - Aikhylu; how they became loyal to himcompanions on the road, undaunted companions in battleve and defeated the insidious dragons; about what happenedbetween the Urals and Shulgen

The Urals fought for many years,

He destroyed many Divas.

Mountains were born one after another -

Under his mighty hand.

Children born into the world

When he entered into a fierce battle,

We could now run at full speed,

Following the Ural Father,

Along the ridges and mountain tops.

Four fellows, they say,

Preparing yourself for big battles,

On four tulparas in a row

With heroic equipment

We went the way of our father, they say.

Keeping up with each other

Without losing the trace of the Urals in the mountains,

Come to him, they say,

They greeted him and said […]

Ural listened to everyone,

He enjoyed their speeches.

He was inexpressibly glad

Because with my own eyes

He happened to see the Egets.

He tasted great joy.

Full of new courage and strength,

He climbed onto his horse again;

Surrounded by his sons

He continued the war against the divas,

Clearing the country of them.

They fought for a month, they say,

They fought for a year, they say.

In one of the fierce battles, the Ural

Kahkaha was finally attacked,

Having foamed the sea, he floundered,

He let out a heart-rending scream and a groan,

His scream rang out like thunder.

From pieces of his body later

They stacked another mountain;

To the divas and Shulgen on the mountain

A mountain divided the sea in two.

Shulgen lost his head here,

I didn’t know what to do, how to act.

Remaining by his side

He gathered every single one;

And then against the surviving divas

The Ural started the battle again.

When the fierce battles were raging,

When, seething and boiling with foam,

The sea water was bubbling,

His brother Ural

I met you unexpectedly.

The brothers clashed with each other.

A stubborn battle broke out.

Shulgen swung his staff at him,

I wanted to burn the Urals with fire,

Deprive him of 1 life by witchcraft.

Only the Urals were not at a loss,

Immediately taking out the diamond sword,

The meeting dealt a crushing blow;

His anger increased a hundredfold -

He smashed that rod to smithereens...

The Urals gathered people to that place;

So Shulgen appeared before everyone.

“From childhood you grew up to be an insidious villain,

Drank the forbidden blood,

He neglected the word of his parents.

Anger rules only you,

With all your black fate...

I waited until the deadline was up.

You just didn’t keep your words,

So I didn’t take the honest path,

I didn’t heed my father’s word,

The mother's covenant was trampled,

The whole country was flooded with water...

Evil is crushed by kindness -

It will never come back!

Do you understand now that evil

Will goodness prevail?

Have you realized that a person

Will he be above the divas in everything?..

If you kiss the ground, you won’t give your word,

Bowing my head before people,

You won't take a sacred oath,

If you don't admit that people's tears

Only on your black conscience,

And, having met our father,

Don't tell him everything...

I'll turn you into a black rock,

To whcih alive soul will not come -

Not in a month, not in a year;

No one will remember him kindly

The grass will not grow in that place...

This is the kind of rock you will become!” -

The Urals issued the following verdict [...]

Shulgen, frightened by his brother’s words, promises to improve and begs to forgive him for the last time (approx. comp.).

The Urals decided to heed his request,

Try it one last time:

“If, having lost honor, the husband goes astray,

He will lose everything in his life...

If you finally understand all this,

If you part with deceit,

If you turn from darkness to light,

If you find the strength to learn

His lion, who stumbled on the way,

Once again I will fulfill your will.

For the honor of my father,

In memory of my mother,

I'll test you for the last time

For the last time I will heed your request.”

About what the old man said, exhausted from the inability to die; how the Ural Batyr took water from the Living Spring into his mouth, but did not even take a sip - he sprinkled the earth around him with that water, and it all came to life

Having released Shulgen, Ural

So he said to the assembled people:

“Death, which was visible to the eyes,

We were expelled from our country.

The marvels that drank our blood,

Made the firmament of mountain ranges.

Water of the Living Spring,

Having scooped it up, we’ll bring it here -

Let everyone have that water.

From Death, which is hidden from view,

From the diseases that plague us,

From the pain and torment that has been oppressive for centuries,

We will save the human race,

Let's make man immortal -

We will bring joy to every heart!” […]

At this time, an ancient old man appears who experienced the endless torment of immortality by drinking water from a living spring. He says that a person’s immortality does not lie in endless longevity, but in his good deeds for the benefit of others.

“...My bitter experience of the days I lived

It will help save others from troubles.

Wanting to live forever in the world,

To be immune to Death,

Not wanting to accept power,

Don't drink from the Living Spring!

The world is a fragrant garden,

And the creatures living there

Similar to plants and flowers

Some people litter that garden with themselves,

Others grow, admiring their beauty,

Different colors and comfort

Plants add to the garden.

What we call Death

We give evil nicknames to whom we give, -

Eternity's imperishable law,

He cleanses the world from rottenness,

From sick and withered herbs

He cleanses forever.

He refreshes the garden of life.

Don't want to be forever

Pz Drink from the Living Spring!

What remains on earth

How all the best is created,

Garden beauty and fragrance -

This is goodness and beneficence.

It will not burn in fire - a good deed,

Not drowning in water is a blessing,

It will rise to the sky - a blessing,

Will remain in memory - a good deed,

It is the head of all affairs,

For all people living in the world

It will remain as the highest destiny of the world.”

And hearing the old man’s words,

Having realized their deep meaning,

Together with all the people of the Urals

I set off on a long journey.

And here in front of them is the Living Spring -

The mouth filled the Urals with water,

On the stitch that he himself laid,

To the mountains that raised to heaven,

Sprinkled it with that water, they say:

“Let the bare thickets be green,

May they acquire the color of immortality,

Let the birds chirp louder and sweeter,

Let people sing funny songs!

Let the enemy flee from our region,

Dripping with black envy!

Let the people love this land,

Let her blossom into a beautiful garden,

Let the heart of your enemies be plagued with beauty!”

So the Urals said loudly...

The news reached Shulgen. “From now on, I have a protector, who will grab people, kill them and drive them from the world. My protector is Death. There are no barriers in front of her now, She will help me, mercilessly destroy people,” - So Shulgen thought to himself...

Days and months have passed,

People built houses for themselves,

We went to visit each other,

We drank a full cup of joy,

They matched brides to grooms.

Anyone was calm and happy

Among those troubled places

Peace and quiet were established.

About how, in anger at the atrocities of the divas, the Ural drankthe lake where they were hiding; like they penetrated his insidessnakes gnawed the hero's heart; about what Ural saidhero before his death; about how they settledpeople on the slopes of the Ural-Tau, how animals, animals and birds multiplied there, how they ran out of foodyes; how the rivers Idel, Sakmar, Nugush, Yaik were formed;how people lived in prosperity, forgetting about the pasthardships and disasters

But then the peace was disturbed again:

Girls walking for water

Men walking along a forest path

The divas began to lie in wait

And swallow right next to the water...

They came to the Urals again in a crowd,

Through tears they started talking about divas.

And he decided to unite the people,

Destroy the evil divas to the end;

Only those who knew about it

They stopped getting out of the water.

The Ural did not think for a long time,

Idel, Nugush, Yaik,

Sakmar and other batyrs -

He ordered me to manage my army;

Then he tore out the diamond sword,

Akbuzat saddled

Causing both noise and thunder

He raced on Akbuzat,

Raised a storm on earth,

It sent waves out of the water;

He galloped to the lake of divas:

“I’ll drink this lake in full,

I'll dry you up to the very bottom,

From the divas who survived,

Who does not allow people to live on earth,

From shulgens and other bastards

I will deliver the people forever!”

He began to drink the lake -

The water began to bubble in it;

The divas began to shout in fear -

They wanted to hide from the hero,

The Ural just drank and drank,

And diva after diva entered it.

A lot of them have accumulated inside him,

Everyone's teeth are sharp,

They gnawed at his heart and soul.

He splashed the lake back;

Divas jumping out

The warriors killed everyone in a row.

Unable to stand on my feet,

I can't fight anymore,

The Ural fell on the same spot.

The people knocked down the rampart here.

“He was the happiness of the people until the end!” -

The orphaned people wept.

“...Listen, children, I’m telling you,

Listen, my country, I tell you:

And being the bravest lion in the world,

From birth having the name of a batyr,

Still, without bypassing your country,

Wading her grief and blood without passing,

You cannot harden your heart;

So as not to be at the same time with enemies,

Don't do anything without advice!

Children, listen to my words:

On the land cleared by me,

Bring earthly happiness to people;

Be wise in war.

To gain glory for the country,

Strive to become heroes yourself;

Don't ignore their advice

But don’t forget those who are younger -

It's up to you to raise them and raise them.

If a speck of dust gets into someone's eyes,

Which can make them blind

Become the eyelashes of their eyes, you

Wipe away that rubbish with your hands...

Sons! Tell your mothers:

Let the Urals be forgiven for everything,

Let each one say: “He was my husband.”

And let me remind you all of this:

Let goodness be your only horse,

Let your name be man,

Do not give way to evil forever,

May peace and goodness endure forever!”

He said those parting words

And the hero Ural died.

Having no strength to calm the grief,

The people bowed their heads low.

The falling star broke through the darkness -

She brought news for Humay;

Humai put on a bird outfit

And she flew here, they say,

And the lips of the dead Urals,

They say she kissed:

“Ay, you are my Ural, Ural,

I didn’t make it to you alive,

I didn't hear what you said

I couldn’t console my soul...

At least I have a name - Khumay,

Even though people know that I am a woman,

I won’t take off my bird’s fur coat anymore,

A look you can fall in love with

I will never accept again...

What can I do for you?

By the road where you rode,

On the mountain range that you created,

I'll dig up the grave and bury it,

I will keep you in my heart forever.

The great path where you rode,

No water will flood;

The mountains you created

They will take you into their arms,

They will keep your ashes forever,

They will live forever in the world.

Once upon a time you drained the sea here,

He became the very first batyr,

Founded a country on the shore;

From now on, in the arms of a mighty mountain,

You will be the light of the country,

You will be a bright soul for people,

And dead, you will live more alive,

You will be even more famous

You will be unfading gold;

Having elevated the human race,

Your glory lives on earth!”

And, having said such words,

I buried him in the mountains,

She flew away, they say

Deciding not to go back.

The road of the Urals - great mountains,

The grave of the Urals is high mountains,

The name was adopted the same - Ural.

After many years

She felt sad about the Urals,

Along the road that he paved,

Flapping its wings, it flew by,

Sank down onto a rocky mountain,

Thinking about the Urals, I felt sad.

Later she raised chicks there,

White swans bred

And everyone knew about it.

Saying: “This is the bird Humai,”

Swans were taken for relatives,

It was forbidden to hunt them;

Don't catch noble birds

We agreed among ourselves -

That is why those birds multiplied.

Therefore, swan meat

Forever forbidden to people.

Lots of thunder With has died down since then

One after another the years flew by.

And again Khumay flew here,

And then animals and birds

She brought with her:

They say the land here is fertile,

She returned to the Urals again;

Keeping affection and love for her,

They came and flew in a line

Beasts, animals and birds.

Having learned that all creatures had gathered there,

That no one is in danger of trouble there,

The bull rolled his tribe,

To whom I was a leader,

On the spurs of the Ural Mountains,

Where space is blessed,

He brought me to live with everyone,

Bow your head before people.

Akbuzat wandered around the countries,

The horse family united

He himself walked at the head of the herds,

Then he brought everyone here...

Animals and birds multiplied.

There wasn't enough water to drink

(None of the people drank from the lakes).

Then to Idel and Yaik, Nugush-batyr and Sakmar,

Gathered together, people came

From all sides of the Ural land

And, unable to hide my sadness,

They began to ask how they should […]

Idel, hearing these words,

I thought about it, got out of the saddle,

The sword that the Urals left,

He took his mighty hands,

Climbed a high mountain

And he said these words:

"In my father's hands is a diamond sword

Could whip snakes and dragon divas;

Coming from the Urals into the world,

Is it worthy to bear the name - batyr,

Who will call me a man?

If people suffer from thirst

Without water, without life-giving rivers? -

So said Idel, and so

He cuts a mountain with a diamond sword;

Waters white as silver

They immediately streamed down the mountain,

The mountain on which Idel stood

Where he galloped merrily,

Where did that river come from?

The name was adopted - Iremel.

The wedge of the mountain that dammed the river,

Where Idel cut it,

It began to be called Kyrykty.

Idelem extracted water

The name of the river “Idel” took forever,

Everyone drank and was glad of this water;

And, following its flow,

Filled with happiness and excitement,

I sang this song and they say:

“Idelem is a cut down river,

Flowed through the dry valleys,

Sweet Idel and bitter she is,

Dry up all your sadness

And bloody tears to the bottom.

People sang songs about happiness and peace,

About the glorious son of Ural Batyr,

Sweet Idel and bitter she is,

Dry up all your sadness

And bloody tears to the bottom.

The tears dried up, the sorrows disappeared.

On the banks of the Idel River

People began to settle in full force,

Raise livestock there;

The number of people grew

It became more and more crowded for them,

They began to run out of land,

The Idel River kept narrowing.

Then the warriors came together

Batyrs Yaik, Nugush and Sakmar

They scattered in search of new rivers.

Like Idel, each of them

They cut down the earth's surface with a sword.

Three rivers from the depths of the earth

Having escaped, they spread to the sides.

Four warriors invited the people,

They divided it into each of the four.

In the valleys of four rivers

They began to build housing,

They settled there forever.

Batyrov of those four names

Four rivers then received;

In all generations, at all times

Those batyrs lived in the hearts of their descendants.

(Ural-batyr //Bashkir folk art. Volume 1. Epic. – Ufa, 1987. P.35-134)

In ancient, very ancient times, when there were neither the Ural Mountains nor the beautiful Agidel, an old man and his old woman lived in the middle of a dark dense forest. They lived a long life together, but one day the old woman died. The old man remained with two sons, the eldest of whom was called Shulgen, and the youngest - Ural. The old man went hunting, and Shulgen and Ural remained at home at that time. The old man was very strong and a very skilled hunter. It didn't cost him anything to drag a bear or a wolf alive. And all because before each hunt the old man drank a spoonful of the blood of some predator, and the strength of the beast whose blood he drank was added to the old man’s own strength. And you could only drink the blood of an animal that a person killed himself. Therefore, the old man always warned his sons: “You are still small, and don’t even think about drinking blood from a tursuk. Don’t even get close to the tursuk, otherwise you will die.”

One day, when my father went hunting, and Shulgen and Ural were sitting at home, a very beautiful woman came to them and asked:

- Why are you sitting at home instead of going hunting with your father?

“We would go, but my father won’t let us.” He says that we haven’t grown enough for this yet,” Ural and Shulgen answered.

“Is it possible to grow up while sitting at home?” the woman laughed.

- What should we do?

“You need to drink the blood from that tursuk,” said the woman. “It’s enough to drink just one spoonful of blood, and you will become real warriors and be strong like a lion.”

“Father forbade us to even come close to this tursuk.” He said if we drink blood, we will die. “We will not violate our father’s prohibition,” the boys answered.

“It turns out that you are really little, and therefore you believe everything that your father tells you,” the woman laughed. “If you drink the blood, you will become strong and brave, and you yourself will go to the beast, and your father will have to sit in your place and guard the house and grow old quietly. This is what he is afraid of and that is why he forbids you to touch the tursuk with blood. But I’ve already said everything, and the rest is up to you to decide.

With these words, the woman disappeared as suddenly as she had appeared.

Believing the words of this woman, Shulgen tried the blood from the tursuk, and Ural firmly decided to keep his word to his father, and did not even come close to the tursuk.

Shulgen drank a spoonful of blood and immediately turned into a bear. Then this woman appeared again and laughed:

- Do you see what a strong man your brother has become? And now I'll make a wolf out of him.

The woman clicked her finger on the bear's forehead, and it turned into a wolf. Clicked again - he turned into a lion. Then the woman mounted the lion and rode away.

It turns out that this woman was a juha. And because Shulgen believed the sweet speeches of this yukha in the guise of a beautiful woman and violated his father’s prohibition, he forever lost his human appearance. Shulgen wandered through the forests for a long time, now in the guise of a bear, now in the guise of a wolf, until he finally drowned in a deep lake. The lake in which Ural's brother drowned was later called Lake Shulgen.

And Ural grew up and became a hero, who had no equal in strength and courage. When he, like his father, began to go hunting, everything around him began to die. Rivers and lakes dried up, grass withered, leaves turned yellow and fell off the trees. Even the air became so heavy that it became difficult for all living things to breathe. People and animals died, and no one could do anything against Death. Seeing all this, the Urals began to think about seizing Death and destroying it. His father gave him his sword. This was a special sword. With each swing, this sword released striking arrows of lightning. And the father said to Ural:

“With this sword you can crush anyone and anything.” There is no force in the world that can resist this sword. He is powerless only against Death. But take it anyway, it will come in handy. And Death can be destroyed only by throwing it into the waters of the Living Spring. But this spring is very far from here. But there is no other way to defeat Death.

With these words, the father of the Urals saw off his son on a long and dangerous journey.

The Ural walked for a long time until it reached the crossroads of seven roads. There he met a gray-haired old man and addressed him with these words:

– Long life to you, venerable elder! Can you show me which of these roads leads to the Living Spring?

The old man showed the Urals one of the roads.

“How far is it still from this spring?” asked Ural.

“But I can’t tell you that, son,” answered the old man. “For forty years I have been standing at this crossroads and showing travelers the way to the Living Spring.” But in all this time there has not been a single person who has walked back along this road.

- Son, walk along this road a little and you will see a herd. In this herd there is only one white tulpar - Akbuzat. If you can, try to ride him.

Ural thanked the old man and walked along the road indicated by the old man. He walked through the Urals a little and saw the herd that the old man was talking about, and in this herd he saw Akbuzat. Ural looked at the white tulpar in fascination for some time, and then slowly approached the horse. Akbuzat did not show the slightest concern. Ural quietly stroked the horse and quickly jumped onto its back. Akbuzat got angry and threw the batyr off with such force that the Urals went into the ground up to his waist. Ural, using all his strength, crawled out of the ground and jumped on his horse again. Akbuzat dropped Ural again. This time the hero went into the ground up to his knees. Ural climbed out again, jumped onto the tulpar, and clung to it so much that Akbuzat, no matter how hard he tried, was unable to throw him off. After this, Akbuzat, together with the Urals, rushed along the road to the Living Spring. In the blink of an eye, Akbuzat rushed through wide fields, rocky deserts and cliffs, and stopped in the middle of a dark forest. And Akbuzat said to the Urals in human language:

– We arrived at a cave in which a nine-headed deva lies and guards the road to the Living Spring. You'll have to fight him. Take three hairs from my mane. As soon as you need me, these three hairs will fall, and I will immediately appear in front of you.

Ural took three hairs from the horse’s mane, and Akbuzat immediately disappeared from sight.

While the Urals were wondering where to go, a very beautiful girl appeared, who, bent over, carried a huge sack on her back. Ural stopped the girl and asked:

- Wait, beauty. Where are you going and what's so heavy in your bag?

The girl stopped, put the bag on the ground, and with tears in her eyes told Ural her story:

- My name is Karagash. Until recently, I grew up with my parents, free, like a forest deer, and was never denied anything. But a few days ago I was kidnapped by a nine-headed deva for the amusement of his nine cubs. And now, from morning to night, I carry them river pebbles in bags so that they can play with these pebbles.

“Let me, beauty, I’ll carry this bag myself,” said Ural.

“No, no, yeget, don’t even think about following me,” Karagash whispered in fear. “As soon as Dev sees you, he will immediately destroy you.”

But Ural insisted on his own and carried the bag of stones to the cubs of the nine-headed deva. As soon as Ural dumped pebbles in front of the deva cubs, they began their games, throwing and throwing pebbles at each other. And while these cubs were busy with their game, Ural took a stone the size of a horse's head, hung it on a rope on the nearest tree, and quietly walked to the cave, in front of which lay the nine-headed deva himself.

The deva's children very quickly ran out of all the stones. And then they saw a large stone suspended from a tree. One of them, becoming interested, hit the stone. He swayed and hit the cub on the head. The deva cub got angry and hit the stone again with all his might. But this time the stone hit him with such force that the cub's head split open like an eggshell. His brother, seeing this, decided to take revenge, and also hit the stone out of anger. But he too suffered the same fate. And just like that, one after another, all nine children of the nine-headed deva died.

When Ural approached the cave, he saw that a nine-headed deva was lying right on the road in front of the cave, and everything around was strewn with human bones. Ural shouted from afar:

- Hey, dev, give way, I’m going to the Living Spring.

But the dev didn’t even move and continued to lie there. Ural shouted again. Then the dev with one breath pulled Ural to him. But Ural was not afraid and shouted to the deva:

– Shall we fight or fight!?

Dev had already seen a lot of brave guys and therefore was not very surprised.

“I don’t care,” he said. “Whatever death you want to die, that’s how you’ll die.”

They climbed to the highest place and began to fight. They fight, they fight, now the sun is approaching noon, and they are still fighting. And so the dev tore Ural off the ground and threw him. The Urals sunk waist-deep into the ground. Dev pulled him out and started fighting again. Here the dev again raised and threw the Urals. The Ural went into the ground up to the neck. Dev pulled Ural out by the ears and they continued to fight. And the day is already approaching evening. It’s already twilight, and the Ural and the dev are still fighting.

And then the dev, who had already believed in his invincibility, relaxed for a moment, and in that moment the Urals threw the dev so hard that he entered the ground up to his waist. Ural pulled out the dev and threw him again. Dev went into the ground up to his neck and only nine of his heads remained sticking out above the ground. Ural pulled the dev out again and this time threw him so hard that the entire dev went underground. Thus came the end of the evil deva.

The next day, poor Karagash decided to at least collect and bury the bones of the Urals and climbed the mountain. But when she saw that the hero was alive, she cried with joy. And then she asked in surprise:

-Where did the dev go?

“And I put the deva under this mountain,” said Ural.

And then, three steps away from them, clouds of hot smoke suddenly began to emerge from under the mountain.

“What is this?” Karagash asked in surprise.

“In this very place I drove the deva into the ground,” answered Ural. “Apparently the earth itself disdains to keep this reptile inside itself.” Therefore, this deva is burning right there, inside the earth, and the smoke is coming out.

Since that time, this mountain has not stopped burning. And the people called this mountain Yangantau - Burning Mountain.

After dealing with the deva, Ural did not remain on the mountain for long. Having pulled out three hairs, he set them on fire, and Akbuzat immediately appeared in front of him. Having planted Karagash in front of him, Ural drove further along the road to the Living Spring.

They drove through wide fields and deep gorges, through rocks and impassable swamps, and finally Akbuzat stopped and said to the Urals:

– We are already very close to the Living Spring. But on the way to the spring lies a twelve-headed deva. You'll have to fight him. Take three hairs from my mane. When you need me, fire them up and I’ll come right away.

Ural took three hairs from the tulpar's mane, and Akbuzat immediately disappeared from sight.

“You wait for me here,” said Ural Karagash. “I will leave you my kurai.” If everything goes well with me, milk will drip from the kurai. And if I feel bad, blood will drip.

Ural said goodbye to the girl and went to the place where the dev lay.

And now the Living Spring is already babbling ahead, flowing out of the rock and immediately gurgling into the ground. And around the spring human bones turn white. And this water, which can heal the hopelessly ill and make the healthy immortal, lies and is guarded by the eldest twelve-headed deva.

Ural, seeing the deva, shouted:

- Hey, Dev, I came for living water. Let me pass!

This Dev has already seen many brave warriors, but none of them have yet been able to defeat him. That’s why the deva didn’t even raise an eyebrow at Ural’s voice. Ural shouted again, this time even louder. Then the deva opened his eyes and with his breath began to attract the Urals to himself. Ural didn’t even have time to blink an eye when he found himself in front of the deva. But the Urals were not afraid and challenged the deva:

– Shall we fight or fight?

“I don’t care,” answered the deva. “Whatever death you want to die, that’s how you’ll die.”

“Well, then hold on!” said Ural, pulled out his lightning sword and waved it several times in front of the deva’s eyes. The devas even went blind for a few moments from the lightning that rained down from the sword.

“Well, hold on!” Ural shouted again and began to cut off the deva’s heads one by one with his sword.

And Karagash at this time, without taking her eyes off, looked at the kurai that the Urals had left her. She saw milk dripping from the kurai and was very happy.

Here, hearing the desperate roar of the twelve-headed deva, all the smaller devas began to come running to his aid. But the sword in the hands of the Urals continued to cut right and left, and the hand of the Urals did not know fatigue. As soon as he crushed this entire pack of devas into pieces, a great variety of various small evil spirits appeared - genies, goblins, ghouls. They pressed their whole crowd on the Urals so much that blood dripped from the kurai that remained with Karagash.

Karagash, seeing the blood, became worried. And then, without thinking twice, she took the kurai and began to play some unpleasant melody that she heard while in slavery to the nine-headed deva. And it turns out that that’s all that little evil spirits need. Having heard their native tune, they, forgetting about everything in the world, began to dance. The Urals, taking advantage of this respite, defeated this entire pack and went to the Living Spring to draw its water. But when he approached the spring, he saw that the spring had dried up and there was not a drop of water left in it. All these devas and other evil spirits drank all the water from the spring so that this water would never reach people. The Urals sat for a long time in front of the dry spring, but no matter how much he waited, not a single drop of water leaked out of the rock.

The Urals were very upset. But still, the fact that the Urals defeated all these devas bore fruit. Immediately the forests turned green, birds began to sing, nature came to life, smiles and joy appeared on people’s faces.

And Ural put Karagash on Akbuzat in front of him and rushed along the way back. And in the place where the Urals left a pile of the bodies of the devas, chopped up by him, a high mountain appeared. People named this mountain Yamantau. And to this day nothing grows on this mountain, and there are no animals or birds.

Ural married Karagash, and they began to live in peace and harmony. And three sons were born to them - Idel, Yaik and Sakmar.

And Death now rarely came to these lands, because she was afraid of the lightning sword of the Urals. And so there soon became so many people in these parts that they no longer had enough water. Ural, seeing this, pulled out his all-crushing sword from its sheath, waved it three times above his head and hit the rock with all his strength.

“There will be the beginning of big water here,” said Ural.

Then Ural called his eldest son, Idel, and told him:

- Go, son, wherever your eyes look, walk among people. But don't turn back until you come to a deep river.

And Idel went south, leaving deep traces behind him. And Ural saw his son off with his eyes full of tears, because Ural knew that his son would never come back.

Idel walks forward, walks, and then he turns right and goes west. Idel walked for months and years and finally saw a large river in front of him. Idel turned back and saw that a wide river was flowing in his footsteps and began to flow into the river to which Idel had come. This is how the beautiful river Agidel, glorified in songs, arose. On the same day when Idel set off on his long journey, Ural sent the rest of his sons on the road with the same condition. But the younger sons of the Urals turned out to be less patient. They did not have the endurance to go the whole way alone, and they decided to go together. But, be that as it may, the people remained forever grateful not only to Idel, but also to Yaik and Sakmar, and wished long life to the Urals for raising such glorious sons.

But the Urals, already completing the one hundred and first year of its life, did not have long to live. Death, which had long been waiting for the Urals to completely weaken, approached very close to it. And now the Ural lies on its deathbed. People gathered from all sides to say goodbye to their beloved hero. And then a middle-aged man appeared among the people, walked to the Urals and said:

– You, our father and our dear hero! On the same day when you lay down on your bed, at the request of the people I went to the Living Spring. It turned out that it was not completely dry yet, and there was still some living water left there. For seven days and seven nights I sat at the Living Spring and collected the remnants of its water drop by drop. And so I managed to collect this horn of living water. We all ask you, our dear hero, drink this water without a trace and live forever, not knowing death, for the happiness of all the people.

With these words, he handed the horn to the Urals.

“Drink every last drop, Ural Batyr!” people around asked.

Ural slowly rose to his feet, took the horn of living water in his right hand and, bowing his head, expressed his gratitude to the people. Then he sprinkled this water all around and said:

- I am alone, there are many of you. Not me, but our native land should be immortal. And may people live happily on this earth.

And everything around came to life. Various birds and animals appeared, everything around blossomed, and unprecedented berries and fruits filled in, numerous streams and rivers came out of the ground and began to flow into Agidel, Yaik and Sakmar.

While people looked around in surprise and admiration, the Urals died.

The people buried the Urals with great respect on the most elevated place. And each person brought a handful of earth to his grave. And so, on the site of his grave, a high mountain grew, and people named this mountain in honor of their hero - Uraltau. And in the depths of this mountain the sacred bones of the Ural Batyr are still kept. All the countless treasures of this mountain are the precious bones of the Urals. And what we call oil today is the never-drying blood of a hero.

© Translation from Bashkir