1.
[Page 4] Again, I pray for mercy
On Dzovinar Khanum,
Again, I pray for mercy
On Sanasar and Baghdasar,
Again, I pray for mercy On Kerry Toros,
Again, I pray for mercy
On the parents of the listeners of this tale.
2.
[5] In the beginning there was a pagan Khalif;
There was also an Armenian king named Gagik.
The pagan Khalif had his seat in Baghdad,
And King Gagik had his seat in Berd-Gaboud.
King Gagik was aged and hoary;
He had great riches, but no heirs, no sons,
Only a daughter, Dzovinar Khanum,
Who was very fair.
In those days, the mightier king
Took tribute from other kings.
The Khalif of Baghdad, mighty and powerful,
Gathered his army, attacked and plundered our land,
Carried off vast booty, took many into captivity,
Slaughtered countless men, decimated our race.
The Armenian king, Gagik, became then
A vassal of the Khalif of Baghdad.
One day the Khalif called
Two of his tax collectors and said to them:
—Go, collect and bring the tribute that is due me.
The tax collectors went to Gaboud Berd,
And were at the gate of the king's palace
When they saw a dazzling light.
They looked, and what did they see?
They saw a maiden so fair and beautiful
That she could say to the sun:
—Shine not, O sun,
I will shine in your stead.
[6] The maiden was as beautiful
As the fortnightly moon
That rises beyond seven mountains.
When the tax collectors saw the maiden,
They swooned and lay helpless, dazzled by her beauty.
In an hour King Gagik sent his men,
Who came and carried them to his palace.
Saying not a word, asking for nothing,
The two men departed quietly,
Returned to Baghdad, went before their Khalif.
—Did you bring any tribute? the Khalif asked.
—Long may the King live, the two men replied.
What tribute would you need?
We saw something so beautiful!
It is a wonder that we did not die.
Were you in our place, believe us,
You would have swooned
And lay helpless for three months.
—What did you see? the Khalif asked.
—May your House abound with God's blessings, they said.
What would you do with more riches, treasures and goods?
You have much gold, silver, and priceless gems.
But that cross-worshipping Armenian King
Has such a daughter!
A maiden so fair,
A maiden who is worth all you have.
It was that heavenly maiden whom we saw, O Khalif.
[Had you seen her yourself,]
You would not eat, you would not drink for days and nights,
But only feast on her grace and beauty.
Possessed with the desire to have the maiden,
The pagan Khalif sent word to the Armenian king:
—Give your daughter to me.
King Gagik replied:—I am an Armenian, you are an Arab;
I am a cross-worshipper, you are a pagan.
How can I give my daughter to you?
[7] I will never give my daughter to you.
The Khalif said: —King Gagik,
Give her amicably, or you will give her forcibly.
If you do not give your daughter amicably,
I will enslave, slaughter your people,
Devastate your domain, ravage your city,
Destroy your throne, capture your crown.
Gagik said: —I will fight, I will not give her to you.
3.
The Khalif issued then a call to arms:
—Hi, ho, soldiers, march on, invade Gagik's land.
If he gives the maiden to me, it is well. If he does not,
Plunder and devastate the land.
Leave no stone standing, sift the sand,
And bring back all the booty.
The Khalif's army marched on,
Came to the land of the Armenian king.
—O King, they said,
Give your daughter to our Khalif. If you do not,
We will devastate your land,
Leave no stone standing, sift the sand,
Plunder and carry away all you possess.
King Gagik looked over the encampment of the enemy.
And what did he see!
An army as numerous as the stars in heaven.
They fought. Many soldiers [in both armies] were killed.
The cross-worshipping King was defeated.
Dzovinar Khanum, watching from the roof,
Thought to herself: —If my father were wise,
He would not lay at my door so much blood and suffering.
He would give me [to the Khalif].
[8] Because of me they will kill all these people;
Their children, orphaned, will curse me.
In the end they will take me by force.
It is better that I go to him willingly,
To save my people and my father's kingdom.
Maiden Dzovinar went to her father's council chamber
And asked:
—Father, what are you contemplating?
Her father replied:
—This army has come to take you away.
Either you will go to the Khalif,
Or he will devastate our land, subjugate my kingdom,
And enslave and kill our people.
[But] How can I give you, my daughter, to him?
He is an Arab, I am an Armenian.
Dzovinar Khanum said:
—If I do not marry the pagan king,
He will kill our people.
It is better that I go to him;
No one should suffer.
Let me be the only one to die in my father's kingdom.
I am a single soul. I would rather go and perish
Than let our land, Armenia, be laid waste
And thousands and thousands be killed.
Then Dzovinar Khanum said:
—Father, give me to the Khalif.
King Gagik summoned a council to decide
Whether to give Dzovinar to the Khalif or not.
They summoned the Queen's father,
Who was the bishop of Vartbadrig. He came.
They summoned Kerry [maternal uncle] Toros. He came.
The king summoned his court.
He held council and asked:
[9] —Shall we give our maiden to the Khalif willingly,
Or shall we fight?
What would you advise me to do?
One of them said: —We are not strong enough to fight;
It is only a maiden, let us give her to the Khalif.
Another said: —No, we will fight.
We should rather die
Than give our maiden to a pagan king.
[He was upholding the national honor.]
Toros, who was seventeen-eighteen years old,
Realizing that the counsellors,
In honor to their king, were determined to fight
Rather than give the maiden to the Khalif,
Said: —Long may the King live,
I know the counsellors would rather fight
Than give the maiden to the Khalif;
It is better to sacrifice a maiden
Than have a nation perish.
Heed my counsel, my lord,
Give the maiden to the Khalif.
We are not strong enough to fight.
Let us pretend that you have not had a daughter.
The council deliberated;
The bishop agreed with Kerry Toros. [He said:]
—Shall we let a nation perish
For the sake of a single soul?
No, let that single soul be sacrificed.
King Gagik did not want to sacrifice his daughter.
Realizing that he had no other choice,
He agreed to give Dzovinar [to the pagan king].
Word was sent to the Khalif:
—Yes, we will give the maiden to you. Come and take her.
After great preparations the Khalif with his wedding guests
Came to King Gagik to take the maiden.
Dzovinar went to her father and said:
[10] —Father, ask the Khalif to build a separate palace for me.
And allow me to live there.
Tell him he is not to come near me
Nor to my bed for one year.
Father, I ask you to send with me a priest
To hold service in the morning and the evening,
So that I can pray and keep our faith.
Send also a handmaiden with me.
Tell my wishes to the Khalif,
So that he will fulfill them.
King Gagik told the Khalif what his daughter wished.
—Khalif, said Gagik, I will not fight against you,
But I will make these terms with you:
When I give my daughter to you,
[To take her to Baghdad],
A priest must go with her,
So that she may pray to her God, worship her cross,
While you worship your own idols.
You will build a separate palace for her,
You will not go near her
Nor to her bed for one year.
The pagan king said:
—My Lord, I will make peace
And come to terms with you.
If you give your daughter to me,
No more shall I take any tribute from you.
Let her bear my name,
Let people say that I am the son-in-law
Of the Armenian king. That will do for me.
I vow that, not only for one, but for seven years,
I will not go near her.
You can send with her a serving maid and a priest.
When you give the maiden to me,
I will take her to Baghdad
And build for her a pavilion facing my palace.
The maiden will remain in her own faith,
[11] I will remain in my own.
Am I not an Arab? Are you not an Armenian?
4.
The pagan king was camping at Deghdis;
King Gagik was staying at the plain of Norakegh,
Where he had his summer palace
Among pastures and meadows
Full of sweet, fragrant flowers.
Here, too, was Gatnov Aghbiur [Milk Fountain]
Where they pitched their tents
And held the wedding feast for seven days.
[Before the wedding] Dzovinar went to her father
And said: —My royal father,
Tomorrow is the Day of Ascension; give me leave
To go to Hilly for an outing at the springs.
Let me take ten of my companions with me.
We will feast, make merry
And roam the countryside;
In the evening we will return home.
The King gave his consent and said:
—Go, have your outing and return.
Dzovinar with her handmaiden and companions
Went for an outing at Gatnov Aghbiur.
They roamed the countryside till sundown.
She saw then that there is a world
Full of light, teeming with life,
Everyone at work;
Some watering their land, some tending their sheep;
Others ploughing their fields.
Dzovinar then thought to herself:
[12]—I did not know there were so many people
Vibrant with the joy of life.
They climbed to the top of a hill;
There they rested and feasted on the green;
Then they roamed around, sighted Gaboud Dzov ["Blue Lake"/Lake Van],
And went to the shore to watch the lake.
Toward evening, when it was time to return home,
Dzovinar said to her companions:
—Go, take a stroll, roam around, and make merry,
While I go for a drink of water.
Lost in deep thoughts, she walked along the shore
Until she reached a rocky point. There she stopped,
Watched the lake and saw nothing but water without end.
Dzovinar and her maid then sat at the shore and wept.
She was weary from walking;
Her handmaiden had become very thirsty;
Dzovinar had become very thirsty, too. She said:
—The water of this lake is very salty.
Ah, if I only had a drop of water
To drink and quench my thirst.
The handmaiden searched hard but found no water.
Dzovinar then invoked:
—Raise a spring here, O God,
And guide me through Your light.
By God's will the lake parted then,
A spring of sweet water appeared.
In the pool near the bank she saw a big rock
And a spring of sweet water gushing from the rock.
Water surrounded the rock;
No one, without disrobing,
Could reach the spring to drink its water;
Dzovinar took off her garments, swam to the spring.
She cupped her hands and drank a cupped handful
And half-a-cupped handful of water
[13] From that life-giving (anmahagan: "immortal") spring;
The spring then went dry.
She conceived from the water
That she drank at the spring.
Getting her companions together,
She then returned home
To her father, King Gagik.
The Khalif s army departed in the morning.
King Gagik gave a dowry to his daughter,
And with attendants sent her
To the city of the pagan Khalif.
The Khalif was overjoyed on her arrival;
He held a wedding feast for seven days and seven nights.
Then he built a separate palace for Dzovinar,
Sent food and drink to her
And ordered her: —You will not leave the palace.
Dzovinar Khanum retired within seven chambers,
Locked her seven doors, went into mourning.
5.
As time passed,
Dzovinar realized that she was pregnant.
She knew that she had conceived from the water
[That she had drunk at the lake].
But she did not reveal this to the Khalif.
When the Khalif heard that she was pregnant,
He said: —It is not from my seed.
He then summoned his vizier and said:
—You would not believe that this could happen;
What shall we do, vizier?
The vizier said: —Long may the King live,
[14] Let us put her to death.
They ordered the executioner:
—Go, cut her head off.
The headsman came to Dzovinar and said to her:
—The king has ordered me to cut off your head.
Dzovinar Khanum said: —Has your Khalif no justice?
Does he not know that by putting to death
A pregnant woman
He is taking two lives at once?
Go tell the Khalif to wait until I bear my child,
Until we see what sort of a child it is;
Then he may have my head cut off.
If you want to know, she said,
I was a virgin when I left my father's home;
I am still a virgin.
By the will of God my child was conceived of the water
That I drank at the lake.
The headsman returned to the Khalif
And told him all that his wife,
Dzovinar Khanum, had said.
The vizier said to the Khalif:
—Dzovinar Khanum has spoken truthfully;
Let us wait until the child is born,
Then we will have her head cut off.
They decided to wait until the birth of the child.
The Khalif said: —Do not go near her.
As she has requested we will wait until the child is born.
Remember, I am her lord, Dzovinar is my wife.
Do not meddle.
They waited.
Nine months, nine days, nine hours,
And nine minutes passed;
Dzovinar's time was fulfilled:
She gave birth to twin boys.
One was a big child, one was a small child.
Priest Melkiset came
[15] And baptized the boys over the tendour.
The big child he named Sanasar,
The small child he named Baghdasar.
Word was taken to the Khalif:
—You have twin boys.
The twin boys grew in a day as much as
Other children grew in a year.
When the Khalif saw the twin boys,
His eyes were blinded.
He ordered: —Tell the headsman
To go and cut off their mother's head.
The headsman went to Dzovinar and said:
—I have come to cut off your head.
Dzovinar Khanum said to the headsman:
—Has your king no regard for laws?
How will they nurse the twin boys
When he has my head cut off?
Let him wait until my sons grow.
Then he can have my head cut off.
I cannot escape from this place.
The headsman went to the Khalif
And told him what Dzovinar said.
The Khalif then summoned the vizier and asked:
—What do you advise me to do?
The vizier said: —Wait for ten years until the boys grow,
Then we will have her head cut off.
Where can she escape from this place?
Hold them prisoners.
They should not come out of the palace.
They stayed inside the palace for six months.
[16] Dzovinar then sent word to the Khalif:
—Am I a bird that you have caged me?
Am I a prisoner that you have jailed me
And do not let me out of this palace?
[I and my boys], we see the sun and catch the light
Only through the ceiling-window.
The Khalif said: —She is right;
Let them come out, let them go for a walk.
The guard opened the gates;
And they went out for a walk.
Time passed.
The lads grew day by day.
At one year of age, they were as big as
Other children who were five years old.
They would come out, play with other children,
Strike them, hurt them, and make them cry.
By the time they were five or six years of age,
Sanasar and Baghdasar had grown to be husky lads.
Their mother called the priest and said:
—Father, teach my boys how to read.
The priest taught them;
And they learned how to read and write.
One day the Khalif sent for the two boys.
[They came.]
He took them to his chamber;
When he saw how big they were,
And when he heard how they conversed,
He became alarmed
And sent them away. The boys went home.
The lads became seven years old.
One day while they were playing with other boys,
Sanasar slapped the vizier's son
And broke his neck.
The vizier went to the Khalif and complained:
[17] —What a wrath of God those two brats are!
They would not leave our children in peace.
The Khalif replied: —What can I do?
I know that when they grow
They will be hanging from my beard.
Wait, we will do something about them.
6.
The boys were growing up;
One day, in the morning,
While they were playing with some lads,
The lads fell upon them and shouted:
—You are bastards, you are bastards.
When the twins heard what the lads called them,
They wept, went to their mother and said:
—Unless you tell us who our father is,
We will go and throw ourselves into the river.
—My sons, she said, the Khalif is your father.
—No, they said, if he were our father,
People would not call us bastards.
After quieting them, Dzovinar Khanum
Kept the boys in the palace for a while.
A few days later, the twins went out to play again.
Once more the lads rushed on them and shouted:
—You are bastards, you are bastards,
Why do you come among us?
They went back home again, weeping,
Fell on their mother's lap and sobbed.
They wept so much that their mother pitied them.
She said: —Stop crying, my boys,
Tomorrow morning I will take you on an outing
And tell you about your father.
The next morning Dzovinar told her handmaiden:
—Take a basket of food;
We will take the boys to the river bank
[18] To brighten our spirits.
When they reached the river bank, Sanasar said:
—Mother, tell me now who my father is;
If you do not, I will throw myself into the river.
—My sons, their mother said, you have no father.
—Mother, said Sanasar,
I did not spring out of a stone or a bush.
I must have been sired by a man.
His mother said: —My son, some time ago
I went for a walk at the lake shore with my handmaiden;
I became very thirsty and asked her
To find some drinking water for me.
The lake parted. Out came a spring of sweet water.
I drank a hand cupped-full and half a hand cupped-full
Of water from that spring.
God granted you to me from that water.
You are from the full hand cupped-full
And foolhardy Baghdasar from the half a hand cupped-full.
Sanasar then said to his mother:
—Now we know who we are;
Tell us who you are.
—My sons, said Dzovinar,
I am the daughter of the Armenian King.
They walked along the river bank till evening.
At sundown they returned to the city
And went back to their palace.
7.
Time passed . . .
Sanasar and Baghdasar saw that
Their mother was waning day by day.
They asked: —Mother, what has happened to you?
You are grieving, failing every day,
And always weeping.
You have twin sons given to you by God;
[19] You are a lady of royalty.
As we can see, you lack nothing.
Now tell us, what is grieving you?
Why are you waning day by day?
Their mother said to them:
—My sons, who else if not myself should grieve?
Today or tomorrow the Khalif will have our heads cut off.
Sanasar said:
—Mother, could that be possible?
We will see how he can do it.
When ten years were over
The Khalif ordered his headsmen:
—Go, cut their heads off.
One day, while Sanasar and Baghdasar
Were rollicking on the divan, and while
Their mother, in an adjoining room, was weeping,
The headsmen, sent by the Khalif,
Came to her and said:
—Today we are going to cut off your head.
Dzovinar said: —You may behead me,
But how can you raise your hands to behead my sons?
One of the headsmen said:
—We would not raise our hands at your sons,
But what are we to do?
It is the Khalifs order; we must behead them.
Dzovinar, weeping, pleaded: —Speak low,
So that my sons will not hear you and be frightened.
Let them play, have a little more joy,
While you sit and rest.
—No, the headsman said, we are not allowed to sit.
You must hurry; come outside.
If you do not, we will behead you here;
Your blood will stain the palace room.
[And] This time he shouted: —Hurry!
Sanasar heard the voice;
[20] He opened the door and saw men
With swords in hand standing in the room.
He asked: —Who are you? What do you want?
Their mother pleaded softly with the headsmen:
—Do not tell my sons that
You have come to cut off their heads.
Let us take them outside.
Let a headsman stand on one side
And another on the other side,
And strike off their heads [as they come out].
My boys must not see the headsmen
And become frightened.
Behead me first; then my boys.
The executioner said: —Let us go then.
Sanasar asked: —Where are you going, Mother?
—We are going out; we will be back.
—Tell me, Mother, Sanasar insisted,
They are taking you out for something.
Dzovinar did not want to tell;
Sanasar would not let her go. He said:
—Mother, there is something you do not want to tell us.
His mother was moved. She said:
—My son, if you want the truth . . .
The Khalif has sent these men to behead me.
Sanasar asked: —Who is the headsman?
—This man [she said].
Sanasar went to the headsman and shouted at him:
—Are you going to behead my mother?
The headsman said: —Yes, on the Khalif's order,
I am going to behead you all.
Sanasar in a rage slapped the headsman's face;
The headsman's head flew off;
The headless corpse remained standing.
Seeing this, the others ran away,
Went to the Khalif and said:
—Your son slapped the headsman's face;
The headsman's head flew off,
[21] His headless corpse remained standing.
The Khalif sent soldiers to battle the twins.
Sanasar and Baghdasar faced the soldiers,
Battled with them,
Killed half of them before nightfall;
Took a rest, and returned home.
The following day no soldier came to battle.
The Khalif ordered his general:
—Take your men to battle [the twins].
The general said to the Khalif:
—My King, we cannot overpower them.
They are supermen, brave warriors;
They will destroy your Kingdom.
It will be prudent not to resume the battle
And lose no more of our men.
The Khalif pondered and pondered.
Realizing that he had no recourse
And the fight on hand would destroy him, he said:
—We have nothing more to do with the twins.
Now I believe that
Dzovinar Khanum is innocent, and
These brave boys are sea-born.
Dzovinar is my wife,
And the boys are my sons.
8.
The Khalif [after a while] mobilized his army
For a campaign against our [Armenian] people.
While he was making preparations,
Dzovinar Khanum had a dream;
She related it in the morning:
—Khalif, long may you live;
[22] I pray you, lend your ear to my words;
Don't start this war,
—Why? asked the Khalif.
—I had a dream last night, she replied.
—What was your dream? asked the Khalif.
Dzovinar said: —I dreamt that little stars
Had encircled a big star;
The little stars suddenly fell upon the big star.
The big star flickered, came down . . .
It came down and fell in front of our door.
—Eh, beautiful Dzovinar, said the Khalif,
You sleep for yourself and dream for others.
While I am in my prime, I am going to wage war.
—It is up to you, said Dzovinar;
You can wage war or maintain peace; do as you wish.
But don't you have a pact with my father?
The Khalif replied: —I am ignoring that pact;
I am going to war to collect my tribute.
The Khalif gathered his army,
Completed all his preparations,
And started on his campaign.
He battled for seven years,
Surrounded the city of Berd-Gaboud, and laid siege.
The city had cattle and provisions;
But people could not gather their harvest,
Nor could they till their lands, nor sow seeds.
Scarcity set in in the city—
Scarcity so acute that it raised
The price of one loaf of bread to one gold piece.
Famine gripped the city.
Many were dying of starvation.
People, huddled in rooms, were crying:
—Lord God, shall we ever see a day of plenty—
A day when we shall have a belly-full of food?
There was a good man among them. He said:
[23]—Tomorrow at this time no one will buy
One hundred liters of bread for one silver coin.
An unbelieving man, named Gro,
Stood among them and said:
—Take this handful of gold, get a loaf of bread
So that I can take it to my children.
Tell me, my man, where will you get it?
If I were seeing bread with my own eyes,
If I were eating bread with my own mouth,
I would not believe it, I would not believe it.
The good man cursed him:
—Gro, I trust in my God that
There will be bread in abundance before daybreak.
As you have no faith in my words,
May your eyes see [the bread],
May your mouth not taste the bread.
King Gagik gathered his younger men
And formed new brigades;
At nightfall he summoned them and gave instructions:
—Don't strike until you hear my command.
At night, when all was still and quiet,
He suddenly shouted: —Strike!
When the combat began, the soldiers of the pagan king
Turned upon their comrades in the rear, and
Those in the rear turned upon their comrades at the front.
Kerry Toros and the younger men
Fell upon the army of the Khalif,
And killed, and slaughtered, and massacred.
So dreadful was the carnage!
Soldiers could not recognize one another.
They killed and slaughtered each other.
Blood ran like a stream.
They went and asked the pagan Khalif:
—What are you doing? Your army is being destroyed.
The Khalif came to the scene
And saw his soldiers killing each other.
[24] They were threatening him.
He was left alone.
Our people had given him a crushing defeat.
Mounting a big Damascene camel,
The Khalif escaped.
At daybreak people found
The Khalif s army annihilated.
They appointed the unbelieving man as disburser,
To dole out to every man the captured food
And bread in equal share.
To one man he doled out in less measure.
People smashed his head with the measuring vessel;
The unbelieving man died.
Indeed, he saw bread with his eyes, but did not taste it.
While the Khalif was in flight,
He invoked his idols in his plight:
—I pray thee, idols, come to my succor
And save me from the hands of the Armenians;
I vow to sacrifice forty heifers to you.
But how could the idols come to his rescue?
Again he invoked:
—Idols, hasten to my succor;
I pledge to offer you one hundred liters of silver
And gifts in gold;
I implore thee, save me from this foe.
But the idols did not come to his aid—
How could idols come to one's aid?
This time he invoked:
—I pledge to thee, O Great Idol,
If you come, if you reach me on time
To save me from these Armenians
And take me to my home unharmed,
I will sacrifice to thee Sanasar and Baghdasar.
The devas then came,
[25] Propped the camel under the belly
And carried the Khalif to safety.
9.
Dzovinar had a dream in her sleep that night.
She dreamt that she saw two burning lights;
They flickered to a vanishing point,
Then burst forth, blazed again.
Waking up in the middle of the night,
She asked for her boys, had them brought to her;
One she placed on one knee
And the other one she placed on her other knee.
She wept; held them close
And kissed them on their cheeks.
—Mother, why are you weeping? the boys asked.
Dzovinar told them about her dream:
—In my dream, tonight, Saint Garabed [John the Baptist, "the forerunner"] revealed to me
That the Khalif, in dire straits,
Has pledged to sacrifice you to his idols.
When he tries to do this,
You should fend for yourselves.
He will sacrifice you to his gods, my sons.
Run away, go to the city of the Armenian king.
Follow the bright star at night,
And at daytime ask for directions
To the land of the eastern king.
The boys armed themselves
With bows and arrows, mace and sword;
Filled a saddle bag with food,
And went to the Khalif s stable.
—Stable-boy, they said,
Hurry, bring two good horses for us.
Taking the horses, they mounted them,
[26] Came and kissed their mother's breast and said:
-Mother, let the Khalif try
To catch, carry, and sacrifice us to his idols.
The two brothers invoked their God,
Took to the road at night
And kept riding hard till dawn.
The day was beginning to break
When Dzovinar Khanum came out,
Went up to the roof of the Audience Chamber
And saw the Khalif, on a Damascene camel,
Coming without his army, without his generals.
He was sunburnt, black as tar.
The pagan king, rushing, stumbling, came
And knocked at the door.
Lady Dzovinar greeted him:
—Ah, long may you live, my King!
God's grace on you!
For seven years you were boasting of successes,
What has happened to you?
Where is your army?
Where are your generals?
The Khalif replied:
—Lady, I dealt heavy blows to the infidels
And forced them behind the walls of their fortress;
It was in the final hour, the time for them to surrender,
When at dawn, suddenly, fire poured from the sky
And massacred my soldiers and generals;
A fiery sword fell upon my army.
My men, crazed, slaughtered each other;
I would have perished in the carnage, too,
[Were it not for my presence of mind].
I mounted a camel and escaped.
In vain I pledged sacrifices,
Gold and silver offerings to my idols;
But the idols did not come to my help,
They did not come to my rescue.
[27] At last I vowed to the Great Idol
To sacrifice Sanasar and Baghdasar.
He barely saved me and brought me back.
Dzovinar thought to herself at that moment: "Vallah" [Arabic: "by God"],
he would take my two innocent sons
And slaughter them."
Time went on ...
The pagan Khalif went to the temple of idols.
—Apologies to listeners—the evil [spirit]
Possessed the idols;
They demanded their sacrifice.
A voice came from the Great Idol:
—Fetch your two sons, Sanasar and Baghdasar,
To my presence and sacrifice them to me;
I will grant any wish that you have.
The high priest came to the Khalif and said:
—The idols ask for sacrifice.
The Khalif said:
—Take and sacrifice whatever you choose.
[The high priest said:] —You have two sons
From the daughter of the cross-worshipping king;
The idols want them, they want nothing else.
The Khalif said: —Within ten days
We will take our idols to a feast at the springs;
I will bring my two sons there
And sacrifice them to the idols.
The Khalif came [to Dzovinar] that day and said:
—Royal princess, do you know what is going on?
—What is going on? asked Dzovinar.
—Don't you know? My idols ask for sacrifice.
Dzovinar Khanum said:
—May your household never be doomed!
[28] Don't you have any heifers, sheep, or cattle?
Slaughter them, sacrifice them.
—No, no, said the Khalif. They demand human beings.
—Ah! human beings?
Are there no waifs in your city?
Sacrifice them.
The Khalif said: —No, no. They demand your boys;
My lady, I have vowed to sacrifice your sons.
I must take your boys and sacrifice them to the idols—
The idols saved me from the enemy.
King Gagik's daughter said:
—May your house never be doomed! Why my sons?
Are they not your sons, too?
Do as you will.
Take them, sacrifice them.
But where is Sanasar? Where is Baghdasar?
We are here . . . Where are our two boys?
10.
Sanasar and Baghdasar mounted their horses,
Took to the road, and kept riding.
They rode on for four days and nights
Until they got out of the Khalif's land.
Roaming far and wide, they came to a strange land,
Entered a narrow valley,
Where they saw a big river,
And a tiny stream
That flowed from yonder mountains.
The tiny stream reached the river,
Cleft the river, mingled with it, and flowed on.
The two brothers wondered:
—How powerful that tiny stream must be!
It cleaves the big river
And reaches the opposite bank.
[29] Sanasar pondered and said to Baghdasar:
—I am amazed, really amazed!
That tiny stream, coming down
From yonder mountains,
Hits, cleaves the river,
Mingles with it and flows on.
What kind of a water is it, Baghdasar?
Baghdasar said to Sanasar:
—That water is aznantzordy [People belonging to a race of brave warriors of noble birth] water.
The man who drinks it at its source
Will become invincible;
No one will be able to down him.
Sanasar then said to Baghdasar:
—Whoever finds the source of that tiny stream
And builds his home at its site,
He will sire sons
As powerful as the water of that stream;
The fountain of that stream will nurture the aznantzordy
Whose offspring will be mighty and brave.
Sanasar then took a vow:
—By the Bread and Wine and the Eternal Lord,
We will get to the source of that stream,
Build our home there
And establish our community.
We are mighty; that stream is mighty.
Anyone who drinks its water
Will become a man like Azrayel.
—As you will, brother, said Baghdasar.
They crossed the big river, reached the other bank,
Found the stream
And started to trace its source.
The two brothers started their climb.
For days and nights without a halt
They climbed mountain after mountain,
[30] Summit after summit,
Until they reached a highland—
Rockbound—ravines, abysses, huge rocks, and crags,
Forests, beasts, and bears.
There was no habitation in those highlands.
Enchanted with the setting of the land,
The twin brothers searched and found the spring.
It was a rill that ran down [the mountains],
Reached the big river below and cleft it.
They found the water sweet and the site delightful.
Sanasar said: —This is a beautiful place.
We will do well to stay here and build our abode.
They settled at the source of the spring
And planned to build a fortress there.
The big brother said to his younger brother:
—Go, shoot game for our food,
While I gather, pile up stones
And set markings for our abode.
For seven days Baghdasar went every day
And till noon shot wild birds, and brought them in.
Sanasar gathered stones and set markings.
Together they laid the foundation of their fortress.
Sanasar went eastward,
Baghdasar went westward;
They brought huge rocks, assembled them,
Joined hands, invoked God [for guidance],
And, as master-builders, erected walls.
They were building a home of their own
At the site of that spring.
With his bow and arrow
Sanasar was at the chase from sunrise to sunset,
While Baghdasar kept laboring on the fortress.
11.
They worked on the fortress for ten-twenty days.
One day, on his return from the chase,
[31] Sanasar found Baghdasar exhausted and asleep,
Leaving the bleeding game uncooked,
Scattered here and there.
He grieved much over this,
And said: —Brother, let us go away;
We cannot get our sustenance in this manner.
How long are we to stay here
And have unsalted meat for our meal?
If God had willed,
He would have kept us in the Khalifs court.
Baghdasar asked Sanasar:
—What shall we do, then, brother?
—Let us set out and roam the world.
The two brothers rode out, arrived in Moush,
Went to King Moushegh,
Bowed down, prostrated themselves seven times;
On the eighth time, crossing their arms,
They stood waiting.
The king asked: —Are you in want?
Are you in need of anything, my boys?
The boys replied:
—We are not in want.
Above this earth we trust in God,
And on this earth we trust in you, O King,
To sustain and protect us
And safeguard us with your watchful eyes [so that]
With God's grace, no one may be ashamed of the other.
—Whose sons are you, my boys, asked the king?
—The sons of the Khalif of Baghdad.
—If you are his sons, we will not dare
To have you with us, my boys, said the king.
He is a powerful ruler,
He will attack, plunder, and enslave us.
Go back. We cannot have you with us.
They left and went away.
[32] —Where shall we go? they asked each other,
And started for the Amir of Arzroum.
The two brothers went to the prince,
Bowed to him, and stood before him.
They were two desirable, stalwart,
And powerful young men—these two brothers.
As he saw them, the Amir of Arzroum
Approved of them; he liked them
And asked about their race and parentage:
—Who are you?
—We are the sons of the Khalif of Baghdad,
Replied Sanasar.
—Hi, hi, hi! exclaimed the Amir.
And, shaking the collar of his mantle, he said:
—We run away even from the Khalif's dead men.
Now we face his men alive!
No, we cannot keep you with us.
Begone, anywhere . . . but begone.
They left this city, too, and went away.
The twin brothers pondered while they were on their way.
Sanasar said to Baghdasar: —Brother, why do we bear that man's name
While we run away from him?
Let us not mention that dog's name again.
No one will have us
As long as we bear his name.
From now on, wherever we go, whoever asks us,
We will say we have no one—
No father, no mother, no home, and no country.
People may have us then.