What is the epic Ural Batyr. The epic “Ural Batyr” and the Scythian genealogical legend

Source: Z.G.Aminev. The epic "Ural Batyr" and Scythian genealogical legend// Peoples Southern Urals and their neighbors in ancient and medieval times. Materials of the international scientific conference, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of Professor N.A. Mazhitov. – Ufa: RIO BashGU, 2004. – 254 p. – P.219 – 223.

Note: Published with the permission of the author of the article on the historical and local history portal Urgaza.ru.

Basic information about the Scythians and their culture has reached us thanks to the works of ancient authors and, above all, the “father of history” Herodotus.

In the transmission of Herodotus (VI, 5-7) the actual Scythian genealogical legend about the origin of the Scythians has reached us: “The Scythians say that their people are younger than all others and originated as follows: in their land, which was a deserted desert, the first man was born, named Targitai; They call the parents of this Targitai, in my opinion incorrectly, Zeus and the daughter of the river Borysthenes. Targitai was of this origin, and he had three sons: Lipoksai, Arpoksai and the younger Kolaksai. During their presence, golden objects fell from the sky onto the Scythian land: a plow, a yoke, an ax and a bowl. The eldest of the brothers, the first to see these objects, came closer, wanting to take them, but as he approached, the gold ignited. After removing it, the second one came up, but the same thing happened with the gold. Thus, the gold, igniting, did not allow them to come to itself, but with the approach of the third brother, the youngest, the burning stopped, and he took the gold to himself. The older brothers, understanding the significance of the miracle, handed over the entire kingdom to the younger ones.”

The researchers suggested different interpretation of this legend. They established that the second part of their name comes from the Iranian word “khshay” - “to shine, to rule” (K. Mullenhof, Vs. F. Miller, V. I. Abaev). Continuing his research in the field of Scythology further, the world-famous Ossetian scientist V.I. Abaev managed to unravel the first parts of the names of the Scythian brothers. Thus, the name of Tartigai’s youngest son, Kolaksai, was explained by V.I. Abaev as “lord, ruler of the Sun.” He deciphered the name of the second brother Lipoksai as “ruler of the earth.” The name Arpoksai, according to V.I. Abaev, means “lord of the waters.”

Thus, the three brothers of the Scythian ethnographic legend turn out to be the personification of three cosmic spheres or vertical planes: the sun, the sky (Kolaksai), the earth-mountains (Lipoksai) and the water depths (Arpoksai). When studying the semantics of the names of the three Scythian brothers, V.I. Abaev used parallels from Indo-Iranian and Slavic mythologies. The idea of ​​a three-part division of the cosmic sphere (vertically) is known to many peoples of the world and V.I. Abaev’s interpretation of the names of the three brothers, as a reflection of the Scythian worldview as a whole, was accepted by most researchers. Academician B.A. Rybakov, using materials from Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian folklore, showed that a similar three-part “model of the world” was also characteristic of the culture of the ancient Slavs.

A comparison of the Bashkir epic “Ural Batyr” with the Scythian genealogical legend and the results of its deciphering, works by V.I. Abaev, show that Ural and his three sons: Yaik, Nugush and Idel in the epic “Ural Batyr” carry the same semantic load as and the Scythian Targitai and his three sons: Kolaksai, Lipoksai and Arpoksai.

The eldest son of the Urals, Yaik, was born from the daughter of Tsar Katil. The Ural Batyr, leaving his father’s house, in search of living water, and with the goal of finding and destroying Death, first enters the country of King Katil. All the data available in the epic characterizing this country shows that we're talking about about the otherworldly, chthonic world. Thus, the very name “Katil” is translated from Iranian as “killer”, i.e. the epic only indicates the function of this king, not his name. His daughter also has no name. This can be explained by the taboo nature of their names. After all, the Bashkirs, like many other ancient peoples, were afraid to name death, for fear of causing it. The symbol of his country is black - the color of mourning and the world of the dead. Bashkirs are still afterworld They call it “Karangi donya”, which translated into Russian means “black, dark country”. On the black banner of Katil there is a Raven, which in the mythology of many peoples of the world, including the Bashkirs, is also a symbol of the chthonic world. In the domain of Katil, the Ural batyr fights with an angry bull. The bull, in the mythological views of the Turkic and Iranian peoples, is a character of the chthonic world. Arriving in the country of Katila, the Urals there at the very beginning meet completely naked people, which also indicates that this is world of the dead. It is known that nudity is one of the markers of the chthonic world. The very name of the eldest son of the Urals “Yaik” is explained by Turkologists as: a flood, widely spilled, slowly flowing water, that is, even the name of this character is associated with water world. The water world, as is known, among the Turks and Iranians is associated with the otherworldly, chthonic world.

Thus, all of the above facts give us reason to believe that the eldest son of the Urals, Yaik, is the ruler of the lower, otherworldly world.

The hero of the Bashkir epic Ural, after marrying Yaik’s mother, continues his journey and ends up in the country of the white snake, where he marries Gulistan, who bore him a son, Nugush. The very name of the second wife of the Urals, “Gulistan,” translated into Russian means “land of flowers,” that is, she belongs to the world of beauty and is connected with life. Bashkirs very often compared their country Ural (Ural ile) to a flower garden and, waxing poetic, called it “Gulistan”. In the epic “Ural Batyr” there are lines from which it can be seen that Gulistan is the daughter of an earthly man:

Algyr tigan ir bulgan,

Algyr ҡart ҡordashynyn,

Togo ber yuldashynyn

Bulgan Gulistan.

As can be seen from these lines, this Algyr was an earthly man and, together with his comrades-in-arms, fought against dark, evil forces. Gulistan was the daughter of one of Algyr’s comrades. The symbol of the country where the Ural married Gulistan is White color. According to Bashkir beliefs, the white color means this, light, earthly world person. The Bashkirs still call the earthly world “yakty, ak donya.”

After marrying Gulistan, the Ural Batyr continued his journey in search of living water and ended up in the country where Khumay lived, who, as can be seen from the epic, is the daughter of the king of Heaven Samrau and the Sun. Thus, Khumay is a celestial being from both her father and mother. In the same country, the Urals became the owner of the heavenly horse Akbuzat. This horse belonged to the Sun and was presented to Humay.

Before marrying Khumay, the Ural climbs to the top of the world mountain (“Kot Tauy”). The top of this mountain is in heaven. The world mountain in the mythological views of the peoples of the world vertically connects the three spheres of the universe. So the third younger son Ural, Idel personifies the third, heavenly sphere of the universe and is the ruler of the sky.

Based on all the above facts, apparently, there is every reason to assert that Ural is a warrior through his three sons, born by women, belonging to the three spheres of space, marks the world vertically: underwater, underground (Yaik), earthly (Nugush) and heavenly (Idel).

We see women personifying the three spheres of the universe in the Ashvamedha ritual Vedic Aryans. In this rite of sacrifice of a white horse– The king's first wife was associated with the celestial sphere, the second with the middle world, and the third wife personified the lower, deep part of the earth. Apparently, ordering the world through marriage three times is a universal phenomenon.

In connection with the established parallels between the Bashkir epic and the Scythian genealogical legend, the question naturally arises: “do we have a typological connection here, or should we look for a genetic connection between the Bashkirs and Scythians?”

Apparently, answers to these questions can be provided by further research by historians, folklorists and other specialists in the field of both Scythology and Bashkir studies, and– Turkology and Iranian studies.

List of used literature :

1. Abaev V.I. “Children of the Sun” // Selected works. – Vladikavkaz, 1990. – pp. 279-281.

2. Ural Batyr // Bashkort Halyk Izhady. – Ufa, 1972 (in Bashkortostan).

3. Bashkir folk epic “Ural Batyr”. – M., 1977.

4. Bongard-Levin G.M., Grantovsky E.A. From Scythia to India. – M.: Mysl, 1983, – p.84-86; They are: Scythians and Slavs: mythological parallels // Antiquities of the Slavs and Rus'. – M.: Nauka, 1988, pp. 110-119.

5. Herodotus. Story. – Leningrad, 1972.

6. Rybakov B.A. Herodotus Scythia. – M., 1979, p.233, 238; his: Paganism of the ancient Slavs. – M., 1981, p.434, 529.

"Ural Batyr" - folklore work Bashkir people, which carries the spirit of the history of this ethnic group, is an unforgettable symbol of the culture and customs of this ancient people. Like other epics, "Ural Batyr" tells to the modern reader about how individual peoples lived, what they believed in, what powers they worshiped, with whom they fought and were friends.

The meaning of the epic

“Ural Batyr” is a real storehouse of information about the long-forgotten past and passes it on to new and new generations of the Bashkir people. For for long years the epic existed exclusively in oral form. Only in 1910, the famous folklorist M. Burangulov was able to codify all the poems and legends into a single work.

The epic consists of three parts, which include 4576 poetic lines. "Ural Batyr" refers to the oldest genre folk poetry of Bashkiria kubair (a type of heroic tale).

The heroes of this epic are often found in other Bashkir folk tales “Alpamysha”, “Kongur-bug”, “Zayatulyak and Khyukhylu”. Later works were created that became a continuation of the legendary epic: “Babsak and Kusek”, “Akbuzat”.

The plot of the epic "Ural Batyr"

The plot basis of this epic is a description of the heroic struggle of the Ural Batyr for the well-being of other people. The main character's opponents are invaders from other lands, who are helped by evil otherworldly forces. The characters in the story are ordinary inhabitants of the earth who defend their right to happiness.

The plot includes mythical creatures- heavenly king Samrau and the spirits of nature. Each part of the epic describes the life of one of the three heroes, who are the children and grandchildren of the old man Yanbirde. The first part of the epic tells about the old man himself and his wife Yanbika.

By the evil will of fate, they are forced to live in deserted areas. An elderly married couple hunts wild animals, as this is the only way to get food for themselves. In a woman’s declining years, the heavenly king gives her two sons, Ural and Shulgen.

Old man Yanbirde told his children about the existence of the evil force Ulem, which destroys all life on earth. At the time of the conversation, a swan swam up to the people and said that there was an immortal spring of life on the planet, Yanshishma. The guys, impressed by the stories of their father and the swan, decide to find a life-giving spring, and thereby destroy Ulem.

However, during their journey, Shulgen goes over to the side of evil and in every possible way prevents his brother, Ural batyr, carry out his mission. Evil mythical creatures come to the aid of Shulgen and attack the Ural Batyr, but the courageous young man manages to defeat them.

According to Bashkir legends, from the bodies of killed enemies, the Ural Batyr created mountains (Ural Mountains). At the end of the second part The Ural Batyr dies, but leaves behind worthy heirs of his children, who, like their father, become just as courageous and brave.

The third part of the epic This is a legend about the settlement of the Bashkir people in the Ural lands. The children of the Ural batyr were able to continue their father’s work and found a source of prosperity, which allowed them to live happily in fertile lands at the foot of the mountains raised by their parent.

The epic "Ural Batyr" occupies the most important place in the Bashkir folklore heritage and mythology. Despite a large number of Bashkir folk works, it is this epic that evokes big interest. Perhaps people are attracted to sacredness ancient work, atypical for Bashkir folklore the plot, the problems that are raised in it. In this work I would like to reveal mythological content epic

A myth is a fantastic description of reality, often claiming to explain the entire universe and form mythological picture peace. So, in the mythical “Ural-Batyr”, the conventional starting point - the beginning of the universe is described as follows: “In ancient times, a long time ago” after the global flood, “one place was formed, / Sea water surrounded / This place on four sides. / From time immemorial / A family couple lived there: An old man named Yanbirde / With Yanbiko, his old woman.” This is how the beginning of life is shown. Yanbirde (from Bashk. “giver of life”) and Yanbika “did not know what diseases were, Death was unknown to them,” “They tamed and kept / Arslan the Lion to carry them around.” The plot of the epic “Ural Batyr” about the first man and woman is a classic example of the myth of the global flood, when all the people died and only two were saved.

Myth is a product of primitive thinking, when man did not separate himself from nature. Echoes of primitive thinking are manifested in the fact that the first people of the epic ate ​​only the heart and head of certain animals, drank their blood (believing that their strength would pass to them), and treated animals as equals.

Yanbirde and Yanbik had two sons: the eldest - Shulgen, the youngest - Ural. In the story, two brothers go in search of Death in order to wipe it off the face of the earth. They intend to look for the Living Spring (Yanshishma), which can “kill Death” by immortalizing a person. The brothers' paths diverge: Shulgen, according to the epic, goes “to the left,” to a country where “there is no misfortune,” and the Urals goes “to the right, where there is crying and grief.” On this path, the Ural overcomes many obstacles, defeats the bull of King Katil, destroys the snake kingdom of Kahkahi, frees the daughters of Samrau, and fights dragons. Soon Ural Batyr finds the Living Spring, he sprinkles water surrounding nature, after which peace triumphs on earth, and the hero himself dies.

Space in myth is clearly organized. The upper world – Space – is a model of the ideal organization of society. It is headed by Samrau, he has 2 wives: Koyash and Ai (Moon); their daughters are Khomai (Daughter of the Sun) and Aikhylyu (Moon Beauty). Their husbands would be Ural and Shulgen, and from these marriages their children, the Bashkirs, came. The latter (i.e. people) live in the middle world. And in the lower world there live all sorts of monsters.

The surrounding world, external to man, is conceptualized in myth. In the epic we find common archetypal motifs: sky - underworld, earth - underworld, seven dragons in the sky - Ursa Major; A living spring is a symbol of eternal life; Homai's choice of groom for himself (test); divine marriage of Ural and Homai; talking and conscious animals - personification human qualities(bull, lion, dog, etc.); deer hunting is an allegory denoting sexual intercourse; global flood; ocean - chaos; numbers as archetypes of order (seven is the number of planetary gods); blood in shells as symbols of bad spirit, hot-tempered anger and sensual addictions; marriage of the Urals, when childhood irresponsibility when entering society goes away. Fundamental antinomies are also identified: Death–life, happiness–misfortune. All this links together the world of consciousness and the world of the unconscious. Primitive thought, which gives rise to myth, is inseparable from the emotional (motor) sphere. This is where the anthropomorphization of nature, animism, comes from.

“Ural Batyr” is a heroic epic, similar to a fairy tale, telling about the life and exploits of a hero, his formation. The motifs of the epic are similar to works of world mythology: the fight of Mithra against the terrible bull in Indo-Iranian mythology; the god Thor fights monsters generated by the evil Loki, in particular the cosmic serpent Jormungandr. There is no historicization in the myth about the Urals, no political specifics. Ural is a god-like creature, has kinship with the gods of both the upper and lower worlds. Just like Hercules - he culture hero, which destroys monsters left over from the chaos of primary times. As in any heroic epic, it shows the process of formation of a hero: “The sons grew up day after day, / They grew stronger both in body and in mind” is a typical motif heroic epic. Their parents “Drinking blood, eating the head or heart / Strictly forbade them.” But Shulgen, the elder brother, drank the blood and disobeyed his father. It is after this that Shulgen appears before us as a negative hero-antagonist in relation to the Urals - a bright and kind hero. Ural did not drink blood, did not disobey his father. In Shulgen’s act we see not only a violation of the father’s prohibition, but also something more - a violation of the generic prohibition (taboo) as a norm social community, in Bashkir “yola”. Violation of the tabu-yol contradicts the ideas of the community and, according to the people, contradicts a normal stable existence.

The theme of custom - Nomos - a long-established order established by nature, regulating life and determining the fate of a person has in the mythological consciousness of the people special meaning. Nomos is a sacred law, the violation of which will lead to misfortune and death. Drinking blood and eating the head and heart by parents was explained by the fact that “From ancient times, that custom came down / And remained with them forever.” Violation of taboos contradicts Nomos and becomes the beginning of the spread of Chaos - a destructive force. And the refuge of Shulgen, who violated the taboo, will be the world of Chaos - the world of monsters, divas and all evil spirits - the lower world. If Shulgen is a violator of the natural order, then the Ural is the defender of Nomos, appears as a bright hero, behind whom people are coming. It is by fighting monsters, divas - with the forces of Chaos, that he comes to understand the essence of existence and the universe. He literally takes over Chaos. Fearing the Urals, monsters and divas are hiding in the lake, the hero drinks the water, but he is not able to “digest” or destroy them, and evil breaks through him from the inside and comes out to freedom. Last words Ural warns people against the embodiment of evil - evil spirits, says that only “Good” can resist evil - Chaos.

The epic shows man's desire to touch the mystery of the universe, to know the world and himself. Myth expresses the core of the universe, the unknowability of the world. IN Bashkir epic we see that the basis of being (the universe) is Good.

The older brother’s argument in favor of tasting blood is interesting: “That Death is not stronger than people... / Your father repeated to you ... / We ourselves are Death for any creature.” As we see, Schulgen’s guide to action becomes the principle known to antiquity, the author of which is Protagoras: “man is the measure of all things.” Shulgen appears in the epic as a doubting individual, in that he can question the generally known truth. And according to the concept of the epic and mythological (traditional) thinking, this is evil. We can say that this shows some similarities between the heroes Shulgen and Prometheus from Aeschylus’ tragedy “Prometheus Bound”. Both heroes violate the tribal prohibition: one of them drinks blood, the other takes meat from a sacrificial bull. And both are punished by Father Yanbirde and Zeus Almighty. They are presented as rebels; it is not for nothing that in the works of many writers the image of Prometheus becomes a symbol of freedom and independence. Aeschylus, as a representative of the period of collapse of the communal-tribal system in a highly interpreted ancient myth, shows of this hero How new identity an era with individual aspirations, openly opposing the will of earthly man to the heavenly will of the gods. And for the conservative-minded Hesiod, Prometheus wears negative character and portrayed in a negative sense.

The description of the model of the world in the epic “Ural Batyr” occurs as a story about the origin of various things, and the events of the past become “necessary elements of this description, the “bricks” of the mythological structure.” As Meletinsky E.M. notes. The cosmization of chaos, the ordering of earthly life is the main focus of myths in general. This can also be seen in “Ural Batyr” (the creation of the world, the fight against chaos).

Following Nomos does not negate the conscious perception of the world. Ancient epic, having shown that human life is inextricably linked with nature and natural cycles, reflected only the beginnings of consciousness in people, which manifests itself in the fact that a person begins to seek and understand freedom, believes in own strength. Now he ceases to blindly trust the interventions of otherworldly forces and natural elements, i.e. there is a tendency to perceive oneself separately from nature. But in the society that is described in the epic - a tribal and traditional society, such behavior of its members is unacceptable, such individuals are forced to leave the community of people and live as outcasts, their life is shown as unhappy in the epic (the life of Shulgen). Understanding one’s own individuality, moving away from blindly following instincts and reflexes, self-restraint - thus indirectly showing the beginning of the formation of consciousness in a person in the epic.

“Let your name be man,” exclaims the main character. Instead of drinking living water yourself, bring benefit to yourself, the Urals irrigate the world, nature, giving it eternal life. Wanting to initially kill “Death”, wanting to live forever, i.e. indulging his own selfish desires, and then abandoning this, the Ural leaves himself, he, as Yu.M. Borodai would put it, comes to “the death of himself as an egocentric being.” He “kills” not only “himself,” but also that mythical “Death” that is spoken of in the epic. And this path in the epic, chosen by the Urals, is the right one, this is the path of “Good” to which a person should strive. Let us remember the old man who, in pursuit of his own selfish desires, once drank the Water of Living: now he is “doomed to an eternal and painful life.” He did not find happiness, he could not defeat “Death”, because, without giving up himself, he did not choose the path of “Good”. After all, physical immortality is not a good thing, but the source of immortality is “Good”: “Let GOOD become only in your name, / Do not give way to Evil forever!” According to the epic, a mortal man, without violating Nomos, must strive to do Good, which will immortalize him. Death, which was presented as a certain being, is only a natural process of renewal of the world.

A person who does not understand this, whose motor skills and behavior are controlled not by consciousness, but by instinct, “Death” awaits. Overcoming nature (as overcoming a certain dead end of humanity), self-restraint - the acquisition of consciousness by a person, awareness of behavior, a new super-biological quality of a person, the manifestation of which is the refusal to kill and rivalry. Ural had the opportunity to kill Shulgen for his crimes, but he was merciful and did not do this. Refusal to kill, as a manifestation of the rudiments of consciousness, also began to be identified with renunciation of sexual relations within the community ( Negative consequences These actions were reflected in the fact that Zarkum almost died when he tried to swallow a deer - a hidden manifestation of sexual instinct). The core of these actions is taboo. The above-described human transformation is one of the components of the content of the epic as a myth.

We, in the words of A.F. Losev, we can conclude about the “middle position of the epic”, that the Bashkir folk epic is located between primitive savagery and civilization. Main character The Urals symbolizes all clan (tribal - collective) forces, it is a kind of ideal of the people, a symbol of freedom. This work is a reflection of the worldview of the people. The epic describes the life of one or another human collective, which subordinates absolutely every personal life with its laws; the individual realizes himself only within the framework of this collective. Therefore, the loss of a hero - the death of Ural Batyr - is a loss of public good, death against the backdrop of the struggle of the cosmos with chaos. But his death (and resurrection) is necessary for rebirth and the infinity of life.

Bibliography:

1. Borodai Yu.M. Erotica. Death. Taboo. Tragedy human consciousness. M.: Gnosis, Russian Phenomenological Society, 1996. – 416 p.
2. Gallyamov S.A. Bashkordian philosophy. Volume 3. – Ufa: Kitap, 2005. – 344 p.
3. Losev A.F. Homer (Ser. Life wonderful people). – M.: Young Guard, 2006. – 400 p.
4. Meletinsky E.M. From myth to literature. – M.: RSUH, 2001. – 168 p.
5. Meletinsky. EAT. Poetics of Myth. – M.: Nauka, 2000. – 407 p.
6. Ural batyr. Bashkir folk epic. Ufa: Bashkirskoe book publishing house, 1977. – 518 p.

"Ural Batyr" is the largest and oldest epic work Bashkir folklore, which has come down to us from time immemorial. It takes its rightful place among the great monuments literary heritage peoples of the world. "Ural Batyr" was translated into Russian, English, French, Turkish and other languages. But the work of Aidar Khusainov, in the opinion people's writer Bashkortostan by Akhiyar Hakim, not a retelling of the epic, but a talented reproduction of its entire complex compositional and figurative structure, without compromising the meaning and letter of the original.

The text is taken from the "Language Shop" and may differ from the final version.

Aidar Khusainov - Ural Batyr - Bashkir folk epic in prose arrangement 1

How Shulgen violated his father's ban 1

How Janbike and Janbirde returned home 1

How Yanbirde discovered that someone drank from shells and what came out of it 2

What did the animals and birds say when they gathered to answer the call of Yanbirde 2

How was she caught? white swan 2

Ural and Shulgen meet the old man and cast lots 2

How Ural Batyr came to the country of Padishah Katil 3

How Ural Batyr met the daughter of the padishah Katil 3

How Ural Batyr met Zarkum 5

How Ural Batyr and Zarkum arrived in the snake kingdom 5

How Ural Batyr entered the Palace of Secrets 6

Shulgen meets a beautiful young man 6

How did Shulgen get to happy country 7

How Shulgen met Zarkum 7

How Shulgen and Zarkum arrived in the kingdom of the padishah Azraki 7

How Shulgen entered the palace of the padishah of the divas Azraki 8

How Azraka spoke to Shulgen and Zarkum 8

How Shulgen and Zarkum met Humay 8

How Humay met Ural Batyr 9

How Ural Batyr found an unprecedented bird 9

How Ural Batyr found out that his owner was Khumay 10

How Ural Batyr and Shulgen 10 met

How Ural Batyr and Shulgen competed on Maidan 11

How Shulgen found his wife again 12

How the Ural Batyr gave his staff to Shulgen and what came of it 12

Zarkum and Shulgen are again with the padishah of divas 12

How the war with divas began 12

How the end came to the padishah of the divas Azrak 12

Ural Batyr meets his sons 13

What his sons told Ural Batyr 13

How Kahkaha 14 was defeated

Battle with Shulgen 14

How Shulgen 14 was tried

How Ural Batyr met the immortal 15

Shulgen takes up evil deeds again 15

How swans appeared in the Urals 16

How rivers appeared in the Urals 16

Aidar Khusainov
Ural-batyr
Bashkir folk epic in prose arrangement

Night, deep night everywhere. Not a star or a light is visible anywhere, only deep darkness all around, darkness without end and without beginning, darkness without top and bottom, without the four cardinal directions.

But what is it? It was as if the surroundings had brightened, and the darkness shone with a heavy, vague radiance. It was suddenly revealed in her core golden egg, the light from which pierced the endless thickness of darkness.

The egg shines more and more, but the heat does not scorch it, it only captures more and more space, becomes unbearable, and suddenly disappears, and here in front of us is a clear sky, a wide steppe, high mountains on the horizon and huge forests behind us.

And if you go even lower, you can see a man moving, looking like a small mountain. This is Yanbirde - the Giver of the Soul. It is several times larger than itself big man, because he is the first man. He lives so long ago that he doesn’t even remember when he was born. Next to him is his wife Janbike - the Soul of Life. They have been living together for a long time, and they don’t know whether there are still people in the world; for a long time, no one came across them.

They are returning from hunting. Behind them is a lion, on which they have loaded the prey - a tall deer; a falcon flies in the sky above them, he is looking out for what is happening in the area.

A clearing appeared. From there, two boys run towards Yanbirda and Yanbika. The shorter one is called Ural, he is younger. The taller one is called Shulgen, he is older. This is how our story about the Ural warrior begins.

How Shulgen violated his father's ban

Janbirde and Janbike have lived in these places since time immemorial. They had no home and did not run any household. Food was cooked over a fire, they ate from whatever they could find, and if they wanted to sleep, tall grass spread like a soft bed, tall linden trees bowed their branches to shelter them from the rain, thick hawthorn and rose hips closed around them to protect them from the wind. There was no winter, no spring, no autumn in those places, but only one endless summer.

Janbike and Janbirde lived by hunting. They rode out on mighty, ferocious lions, the pike helped them catch fish in the rivers, and the faithful falcon killed birds for them. They had neither a bow nor a knife; with their bare hands they caught animals in the forests and felt like masters of those places.

They had a custom since time immemorial - they collected the blood of killed animals and made a special drink from it, which gave them strength and vigor. But only adults could drink this drink, and their children, Shulgen and Ural, were strictly forbidden by their parents to touch the shells in which it was stored.

The children grew up quickly. When Shulgen was twelve years old, he decided to saddle a lion and go hunting like his father.

Ural, who was ten years old at that time, decided to hunt with a falcon, as his father hunted.

But Yanbirde did not give them his blessing and said this:

"My children! I love you as I love my eyes with which I look at White light. But I cannot allow you to hunt - your baby teeth have not yet fallen out, you have not yet become stronger in body and soul, your time has not yet come. Don't rush your childhood and listen to me. And I’m telling you - to get used to riding a horse, sit on a deer. To learn how to hunt with a falcon, let it hunt a flock of starlings. If you want to eat, eat, if you want to drink, drink, but only water from the spring. You are forbidden to drink what your mother and I drink."

One day, Yanbirde and Yanbike went hunting and did not return for a long time. The boys were playing in the clearing, and when they got hungry, Shulgen suddenly said to his younger brother:

Let's try what our parents drink.

“You can’t,” Ural answered him. - Father doesn't allow it.

Then Shulgen began to tease his brother:

Don’t be afraid, they won’t find out, we’ll try a little bit. The drink is probably sweet. Father and mother would not go hunting, would not catch animals, if they did not want to drink it.

No, - Ural answered him. - Until I become an eget, until I learn the customs of adult people, I will not kill a single animal, I will not drink this drink.

“You’re just a coward,” Shulgen then shouted and began to laugh loudly at his brother.

No, Ural told him. - Lions and tigers are very brave animals, but they also cry when Death comes to them. What if if you drink from shells, she will appear here?

“Don’t be afraid,” said the naughty Shulgen and drank a little from the shells. So he violated his father's ban.

How Janbike and Janbirde returned home

When Janbirde and Janbike returned home, they brought with them a lot of game. The four of them sat down at the table and began to eat. Suddenly Ural asks his father:

Father, this deer, no matter how hard he tried, did not escape your hand. Or maybe someone will come and kill us in the same way as you killed the deer?

Yanbirde answered him:

The animal whose time has come to die dies. No matter what thickets he hides in, no matter what mountains he climbs, we will still come for him. And to kill a person, such a soul has not yet been born here, Death has not yet appeared here.

Yanbirde became thoughtful, bowed his head, and was silent. Recalling what happened to them in time immemorial, he told the following story:

A long time ago, in the places where we were born, where our fathers and grandfathers lived, Death appeared often. Then many, both old men and young men, fell to the ground and lay motionless. No one could force them to rise, because their Death had come.

And then one day something happened that had never happened before - the terrible Div came from across the sea and began to kill people. He then devoured many, and those who escaped were swallowed up by the sea, which overflowed so much that it soon covered the entire land. Those who did not die ran away wherever they could, and Death was left alone. She didn’t even notice that your mother and I ran away and didn’t try to catch up with us.

And we came here, and since then we have been living in these lands, where there is no Death and where we ourselves are the masters of all living things.

Then Ural asked about these things:

Father! Is it possible to destroy Death so that it no longer causes harm to anyone in the world?

A long time ago, when there was no Ural mountains, 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. In the end, the horse stopped in the middle of the dark deep forest and says:
- 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 Urals took advantage of the respite and defeated this entire pack. And in the place where the pile of chopped up devas remained, a high mountain Yaman-tau - Bad Mountain. 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 rose, gratefully accepted the horn, sprinkled living water all around and said:
- Not me, but ours motherland let her be immortal. And may people live happily on this earth.