[88] They moved around him, but would not dare attack him.
Sanasar's hands were numbed;
He could not battle effectively,
Yet he could defend himself.
The battle fell into a lull.
Now let us narrate about Baghdasar.
8.
Baghdasar was at Sassoun.
While washing his hands one morning,
His eyes fell on Sanasar's ring
That Baghdasar had exchanged with his.
The ring had turned black.
—Ah, he said, hurry, get my horse ready,
I must ride out, reach my brother.
As he came out, he saw a dark cloud.
He came in and said: —Alas, alas, Mother,
My brother is in serious trouble.
—How do you know? asked the mother.
—A gray-haired man once pointed out that cloud to us
And said: —When it gets dark,
You twin brothers, if separated,
Should know that one brother is in trouble,
And the other one should rush to his aid.
Now, I must hurry to reach Sanasar.
His mother said: —My son, have patience—
Patience prolongs life—
Let us go in, have some food;
Then you can hurry to your brother.
Baghdasar led his fiery horse [out of the stall],
Saddled him, took his mace;
Mounted the horse,
Invoked God, and dashed away.
[89] In his hurry, he had no food.
He rode on, reached the mountain
Where the same giant shepherd, seeing
A horseman riding like the wind, said:
—This rider could be no one but Sanasar's brother.
He came to Baghdasar and said:
—Dismount, horseman, rest a little,
I will give you some milk; drink it, then ride on.
—Are you the devil? Baghdasar said to him,
My brother is facing death at this moment,
And you are asking me to have some milk. I must go.
—You have no choice, replied the shepherd;
Unless you have some milk, you cannot leave this place.
To avoid a fight, Baghdasar dismounted.
The shepherd filled his trough with milk,
Put it before Baghdasar with some bread
And left him to make the round of his sheep.
He made seven rounds of his flock
As Baghdasar drank up the milk,
Turned the trough over, and called:
—Shepherd, come, take away the trough, I am on my way.
The shepherd then said to him:
—Baghdasar, your brother is
Seven times stronger than you,
Don't go against him;
Ride on, your brother has slaughtered forty pahlevans,
Leaving twenty for you to slay.
You will both return safely.
Have no fear.
No one will overpower you.
Baghdasar dashed on,
Reached the wall of Bghntzeh Kaghak.
He saw forty gray-haired men standing there.
They appeared so aged that
Their garments and beards were turned yellow.
[90] He saluted everyone present:
—Greetings to you,
White-bearded, red-bearded, brown-bearded men.
The eldest man greeted him in return and said:
—Alas, alas, brave stripling, naive young man,
You, too, have come to fall
Into the hands of that infidel maiden?
He asked: —Why should I fall into the hands of an infidel?
—Son, he replied, within an hour
A bird, belonging to that maiden, will come and screech;
You will be then transformed to a man of our age.
Baghdasar asked: —Appo jan,
Two, three days ago a young man like me
Passed by this place, did you see him?
The men replied:
—The day before yesterday a man like you passed by us,
But he was stronger, braver than you.
He also was riding a fiery horse
That flew him over the wall and landed him in the city.
For two days we heard the sound of battle—
The battle with the pahlevans—
But today we have heard no sound,
And we have no knowledge
About the outcome of the battle.
Baghdasar said then:
—Alas, alas, that was my brother;
He must have been slain
If the sound of battle has stopped.
I swear, from here on I am going to slay everyone,
Destroy this city, and avenge my brother.
He left the men and rode on.
Anything he saw, anyone he met,
Animal or man, he slew them all.
He hurled his mace and wrecked the wall,
[91] Entered the city, approached the battleground.
Sanasar and twenty pahlevans
Were [still] engaged in battle—
Sanasar so weary, hardly able to defend himself,
His eyes bloodshot while he was still swinging his sword.
Baghdasar rode on;
Passing by a maiden's window, he asked:
—Where is the battleground, young maiden?
The maiden recognized him. She replied:
—On your way to the city.
Baghdasar kept riding,
He reached the battleground; joined the battle.
Starting at one end he slaughtered the pahlevans;
Then he called: — Ey, Sanasar, brother!
Sanasar heard his brother's voice.
—God be praised, he said,
My brother has come. I have nothing to fear.
He shouted back: —Welcome, Brother Baghdasar,
Have you come to my assistance?
Baghdasar replied: —Yes, here I am.
You hold on that side
While I cut them down from this side.
Baghdasar went over,
Pulled his brother out of the blood pool; washed him.
Sanasar opened his eyes. He asked:
—There are twenty more pahlevans to contend with,
Where are they?
—I slew them all, said Baghdasar.
They went to the king.
Seeing the twin brothers, the king said:
—This was the fourth test;
[Now] You will go to Ganatch Kaghak [Green City]
When you return, you will have the maiden.
9.
[92] —Ganatch Kaghak, where are you? We are coming!
They started, rode over arid land,
Reached the city, went here and there,
And finally knocked at the door of an old woman.
She came and asked: —Who is there?
They said: —We are harmless strangers, Mammig,
Don't you want guests?
She replied: —Why not, my lads,
A guest comes from God.
She opened the door, asked them in, saying:
—I have no children.
You will be my sons, I will be your mother;
We will live together. God will provide for us.
At daybreak Sanasar asked Baghdasar:
—Why did the King of Katcher send us to this city?
What are we to do here?
Baghdasar replied:
—Brother, let us take a walk in the city.
We will do whatever God wills,
Until we see what the end will be.
They left their horses and arms with the old woman
And went to the city to walk around.
They stopped at the gate of the royal stable;
The stableman came and asked:
—Ey, fellows, who are you,
Would you like to be hostlers?
They said: —We would; we are strangers.
—Can you curry horses? he asked them.
They said: —Yes, we can.
The stableman took them to the stalls
And said: —Clean the stalls.
[93] Sanasar took the twig broom and Baghdasar the shovel.
Together they swept the stalls.
The stableman then said: —Now, curry the horses.
Sanasar asked: —Where is the curry comb?
—On the open shelf, there, said the stableman and left.
The curry combs that Sanasar handled
Crumbled in his hands.
He looked around in the stable
And saw a large object that looked like a curry comb—
A copper trough for watering the horses,
Filled with barley feed.
He emptied the trough on the floor
And used it to curry the horses.
He scraped the skin off the tail
Of every horse that he curried.
When the stableman returned and saw what had happened,
He shouted: —What is this you have done?
They replied: —We have rubbed their backs.
—Doom to your households!
You have killed all the horses.
The stableman went to the king,
Told him what had happened, and asked him:
—What shall we do with these men?
They have the strength of dragons.
The king said: —Let them stay,
In the morning we will send them to the mountain
To fight the dragon.
The boys returned to the old woman.
In the evening Baghdasar said:
—Mammig, I am thirsty; may I have a little water?
She said: —Death to me! There is no water.
Baghdasar asked: —What do you mean, Mammig?
She replied: —I would die for you, son!
Ganatch Kaghak is a city without water.
We have no water.
There is a spring on top of the hill.
[94] At the mouth of the spring
There sits a dragon
That has stopped the water flowing to the city;
We are afraid to go there for water.
Every week we have to take a virgin maiden to him.
He will devour her, then release the water.
If we don't do this, we will die of thirst,
And our city will be destroyed.
There is a maiden at the king's palace [now],
It is her turn to be taken to the dragon tomorrow.
—Mammig, can't you slay that dragon?
She replied: —Who could ever slay that dragon?
Many, many a time the king
Has moved on him with his soldiers,
[But] he has not been able to do anything to him.
At daybreak, the elderly woman said:
—There's a hubbub outside;
They are taking the maiden to the dragon.
The boys looked; and, indeed,
People in tears were taking to the spring
A maiden, lovely as the moon,
Dressed in black from head to foot.
Women with water jugs were following them to the spring.
The twin brothers walked behind them.
No sooner than they came out of the city,
[The king and] people told Sanasar and Baghdasar:
—Take this maiden to the dragon,
Battle with him, kill him.
Sanasar and Baghdasar said to the king:
—How can we battle with the dragon?
We carry no arms.
The king replied: —You know what to do.
Baghdasar said to Sanasar:
—Let us go to that big house nearby;
There are two round stones with holes in the center;
[95] We will put our arms through the holes and carry them.
The twin brothers went and took the stones.
But the owners of the stones
Went to the king and complained:
—We spent much money for those stones,
And struggled hard to get them up.
Those lads will cast them away at the hillside,
And we will not be able to place them back.
The king asked the brothers:
—Will you return the stones
Where you took them from?
They replied: —Yes, we will return them
Where we took them from.
They took the maiden and the stones
And went to the place on top of the hill,
Where people tie and leave the maidens;
The brothers told her: —Don't be afraid, maiden,
Stay here, while we go and take [our] position
Above and below the dragon.
The maiden thought to herself:
—I will escape now,
Let the dragon come and devour them.
But the dragon was not in sight. She was running away.
They caught her and tied her.
Sanasar said to his brother:
—Take your position above, I will take mine below.
I am afraid that if I stand above and hurl the stone,
You will not be able to catch it
When we hit and kill the dragon.
And be careful, brother,
The stones must not roll down, get lost in the valley.
A roar suddenly rent the mountains.
They looked around. A huge beast appeared—
A beast as big as a water buffalo but five times as long.
[96] The dragon saw from the distance
That instead of one, three persons
Were waiting to be devoured by him.
He was delighted.
Sharpening his fangs, opening his mouth,
Lashing his tail, and hissing,
He was moving toward the maiden to devour her [first].
Her teeth locked, her tongue tied [from fear],
The maiden was weeping,
With warm tears rolling down her face.
The dragon came closer to them.
—Catch my stone, brother, shouted Baghdasar,
And hurled the stone.
The stone hit the beast but did not kill it.
Then Sanasar hurled a stone
That shattered the ribs of the beast
But did not get near his brother.
They fell on the beast and
Crushed his head with the stones.
Picking up the stones, they came to the maiden
And released her.
—Go home, maiden, they said to her.
The dragon, in a pool of blood, toppled and expired.
The water of the spring, released,
Started to flow freely;
People carried the water home without stint or fear.
Baghdasar said to Sanasar:
—Let us roll the stones into the valley and go.
Sanasar said: —Brother, have pity,
The owners are Armenians,
They cannot carry back those stones;
Let us carry them back ourselves.
They picked up the stones,
Took along the maiden, returned to the city.
The maiden told the king all that she had seen.
The king summoned the brothers and asked them:
[97] —Did you return the stones, my lads?
They said: —Yes, we did. They are at the door.
Let the owners come and place them back,
We don't know where to place them;
We brought them as far as the door,
Let the owners carry them in.
—But they cannot haul those stones, said the king.
—How did they do it at the beginning? they asked.
The king replied:
—They hitched water buffalos and horses
To haul those stones to their places.
It is a new oil press that they have built.
Sanasar said: —Then, let them come,
Open the doors and point the place to us.
We will carry them and place them properly.
The owners went with the boys
And pointed out to them the place of the stones.
The boys placed back the stones,
And returned to the house of the old woman.
The following day the king summoned
Sanasar and Baghdasar and said to them:
—Ask for anything you wish, I will grant it to you.
Baghdasar said: —We ask for nothing
But the maiden we saved.
The king said again:
—Baghdasar, I will grant to you anything you wish.
The king made this offer three times in succession.
And for three times Baghdasar asked for nothing else.
The king then said:
—If you ask for nothing else [but the maiden],
The maiden you saved is already yours.
Come, Baghdasar, let me marry you to her.
Baghdasar, the lad, said:
—At the present I have no time to be married.
They betrothed the maiden to Baghdasar.
[98]
10.
The twin brothers bade farewell,
Left Ganatch Kaghak,
Returned to Bghntzeh Kaghak
And rode to the palace of the King of Katcher
To claim Deghtzoun by force and drag her away.
The king said: —Sanasar,
Deghtzoun is in her castle outside the city;
Hamdol, the dev ["devil/demon"], is guarding the gate,
Go and take her, if you can.
Baghdasar stayed in the city;
Sanasar, the foolhardy of Sassoun,
Took his weapons, mounted his horse and rode away.
He saw a white castle perched on a rock.
He approached the castle, saying to himself:
—I will see if this is Deghtzoun Dzam's castle.
Going to the gate, he saw
A huge door at the entrance.
He shouted: —Ey, open the gate.
Hamdol, the dev, behind the gate, shouted back:
—Who are you that I should open the gate?
Sanasar replied: —Have you not heard of my name?
Hamdol asked: —What is your name?
Sanasar replied: —Don't you know my name?
—No, I do not, answered Hamdol.
Sanasar said: —I don't know, either,
Although I have learned it from my mother.
Hamdol asked: —What have you learned?
Sanasar said: —You want to know what I have learned?
I was a babe when my mother, tossing me up,
Was calling me: 'Krogh ["soul-taker"] of Hamdol.'
[99] Hamdol said: —If you are my Krogh,
Extend your finger through the opening of the gate.
Sanasar said: —Here is my hand instead.
And he extended his arm.
Seeing his hand, Hamdol was amazed.
He took the hand and squeezed it with both his hands;
It felt as if a flea were biting the foolhardy of Sassoun;
Hamdol could not hurt him.
Sanasar said: —Hamdol, now you extend your hand.
Hamdol extended his hand.
As Sanasar squeezed it,
The milk of Hamdol's mother's breast, mixed with blood,
Gushed out of his fingernails.
Hamdol ran away, went to Deghtzoun Dzam.
She asked: —Why did you run away,
What happened to you, Hamdol?
Hamdol said: —Khatoun, there is a man outside,
He asked me to open the gate. I did not.
He squeezed my hand. The milk of my mother's breast
Gushed out of my fingernails.
—Could you not squeeze his hand? asked Deghtzoun Dzam.
Hamdol said: —He extended his hand to me.
It was not a hand. It was a block of wood.
Deghtzoun Dzam asked:
—Didn't you ask what his name is?
Hamdol replied: Yes, I did, but he said:
—When I was a babe, my mother, tossing me up,
Used to call me 'Krogh of Hamdol.'
Deghtzoun said: —Probably he is
One of the foolhardies of Sassoun.
Hamdol asked her: —Who are the foolhardies of Sassoun?
Deghtzoun said: —Sanasar and Baghdasar.
They are the ones who have built
An enormous dwelling place
And have named it Sassoun, the House of Sassoun.
—Bang! bang! Someone pounded at the door
[100] And shouted: —Open the door; if you do not,
I will smash your door and chimney over your skull.
Gripped by fear, Hamdol was paralyzed hand and foot.
Looking from the window, Deghtzoun saw that
It was Sanasar, the foolhardy of Sassoun.
Putting on her slippers, she ran out, opened the gate.
—My lord, you are welcome as a crown over my head.
Sanasar dismounted.
Placing their hands around each other's shoulder,
They entered the castle.
Hamdol fled like a flea.
Deghtzoun said: —I would die for your sun, your soul,
Sanasar, may it be well! What would you wish?
Sanasar replied:
—I have come to take you as my wife.
Deghtzoun Dzam said:
—I submit to your wish, Light of My Eyes!
Shall I ever find a brave man like you?
As she faced Sanasar, he realized that she was
Seven times more beautiful than what he had seen
In his dream and in her picture.
Then and there they exchanged rings [in betrothal].
Deghtzoun Dzam then said: —Sanasar,
Thousand pities! You have been risking
Your youthful life by coming for me.
—Why the pity? asked Sanasar.
Deghtzoun replied:
—I am afraid that they may kill you.
This is a land of magic spell,
Let us depart at night,
So that people shall not see us or hear of us.
If they see us or hear of us,
They will not let you take me away.
Sanasar said to her:
[101] —I am not afraid; I am leaving at daytime;
There is no need for further talk.
Then he added: —If you are coming,
Jump on my horse, I will take you with me;
If you are not coming, give me your final word,
Then I will return to Sassoun.
—Why shouldn't I come? said Deghtzoun Dzam,
My heart, my soul is only for you.
I sent for you, brought you here to go with you.
Before she finished saying this, she sprang on his horse;
Sanasar spurred on, off they went.
On their way Sanasar greeted
Every rock, bush, and beast that they passed by,
Until they reached the border of the land.
On the way they met an ugly beast
That Sanasar did not greet.
The beast then raised its voice to the sky
And yelled aloud:
—Ah, he took her away, he took her away,
Sanasar took the maiden Deghtzoun Dzam away.
The rock heard this voice, relayed it to the bush,
The bush relayed it to the tree, the tree to the animals,
Until the voice reached the city.
People in the city told one another;
All came together
And sallied forth for battle.
Mounted men in great numbers
Began to pursue Sanasar.
The sand of the sea could be counted,
The stars in the sky could be counted,
The grass on the ground could be counted,
But the horsemen could not be counted.
Sanasar took Deghtzoun Dzam
To the top of the mountain
[102] And came back to face the mounted warriors.
Invoking: —In your name, Eternal Father,
Battle Cross on my right arm.
He drew his Lightning Sword, and,
Hungry and thirsty, he cut to pieces the mounted hordes.
People from the city, rushing from all sides,
Took their stand before the huge gate of the castle.
Sanasar was now battling amongst them,
Slashing, slaying them, and pressing on.
Before long he saw that
Men on the castle grounds were fleeing
And taking refuge in the city,
While men from the city were fleeing to the castle.
It was foolhardy Baghdasar who, on the other end,
Was slaughtering them and pressing forward.
Baghdasar [in that melee] singled out a white horseman,
Who, drenched in blood,
Had fallen upon the mounted men
And was slaughtering them.
He shouted: —Get ready! You must be
The one trying to kill my brother!
Here I come to dispatch your soul to the Creator.
Swinging his mace back and forth,
He [hurled it and] hit his brother on the chest,
Who fell back on the rump of his horse.
But regained his saddle quickly.
Hurling another mace, Baghdasar threw him off his seat,
But Sanasar regained his saddle again
And chanted:
—Glory to you, Benevolent Lord;
High is the providence of the Great King.
That was my foolhardy brother's hit,
That was my foolhardy Baghdasar's blow.
Hearing these words, Baghdasar realized that
He had struck his brother. He said to him:
[103] —You were drenched in blood, I could not recognize you.
Couldn't you recognize me
And couldn't you warn me not to hit you?
Baghdasar then asked Sanasar:
—Did you bag any game?
Or are you returning with empty hands?
Sanasar replied:
—I bagged the daughter of the King of Katcher;
She is on top of the yonder mountain.
Sanasar took his brother to the maiden
And with a wink gave her the hint
To kiss his brother's hand.
She readily kissed Baghdasar's hand.
Very pleased with this [respectful greeting],
Baghdasar said: —Sister-to-be,
Will you wash my brother's bloody garments?
I will tend to the remaining fighters.
Hardly had he said this
When Baghdasar took his [arms and] spear,
Fell upon the horsemen and slaughtered them,
Leaving only those
Who had not ventured out of their homes.
He spared not even one to tell the tale.
In this way the twin brothers,
One on one side, one on the other side,
Slaughtered all the mounted forces,
Wreaking havoc among them.
The King of Katcher then came and begged them:
—Foolhardies of Sassoun,
For God's sake, stop your slaughter of my men.
I will grant anything you ask for,
Be it my daughter, be it my kingdom,
I will grant you both.
The twin brothers said:
We want your daughter, we are taking her.
11.
[104] They took Deghtzoun to the forty gray-haired men
At the city wall,
Dismounted her, set her face to face
[With the former wooers].
Sanasar said to her:
—Deghtzoun, these forty men came to seek your hand.
You cast a magic spell and reduced them to this condition.
Will you now lift that spell
And restore these men to their former state?
Deghtzoun Dzam said: —These men came for me;
If I restore them and restore their strength,
They will fight against you.
You take me away.
—No, that will never do, said Sanasar.
Then the maiden cast another magic spell,
Summoned her bird.
No sooner had the bird screeched,
The men regained their youthfulness.
—Very well, said Sanasar.
Taking the maiden aside, Sanasar went to the men
And said: —Brave pahlevans,
You all came for this maiden,
Ready to challenge and willing to fight
For winning her hand.
We, too, came for this maiden;
We, twin brothers, challenged,
Fought, and won our battle,
Took this maiden, and brought her here.
Now that you have regained your strength,
Let her stand aside while we fight over her.
If you overpower us, the maiden will be yours;
If we overpower you, the maiden will remain with us.
The pahlevans said:
—Ey, Sanasar, Baghdasar,
[105] You were the ones who liberated us,
Restored to us our strength.
How could we accept your bid to fight?
We dare not fight you;
Brother, we will not fight.
We will return to our lands.
Then Sanasar asked: —Brother pilgrims,
Would you wish me to take this maiden,
Enjoy life with her?
They all said:
—Take her, fare well with her,
Enjoy life with her. . . . Felicitations!
The forty men bade farewell,
Set forth to their lands, returned to their homes.
Sanasar and Baghdasar took the maiden
And started for Sassoun.
—Brother, said Sanasar to Baghdasar,
You marry Deghtzoun.
—No, I will not marry her, replied Baghdasar.
It was to you she sent twofold greetings.
You fought for her, you should marry her.
Who has ever seen a brother marry
His brother's betrothed? Who has ever heard of it?
I will marry my own betrothed,
The maiden we saved from the dragon.
No one knows how far or near they had travelled,
When they saw a horseman, dressed in blue,
Coming to them, and shouting: —Hey, you scoundrels,
That celestial houri is meant for me,
Where are you taking her?
Sanasar said: —Brother, hold my horse,
I will go and see what he is saying.
—O blackguard, said Baghdasar,
[106] You always take up the challenge,
I am taking it up this time.
Sanasar said: —Go and take it;
Why are you annoyed?
Baghdasar galloped ahead [faced the horseman];
They exchanged words, both dismounted,
Flew at each other;
Baghdasar picked him up
And threw him down on the ground.
[Rendered helpless,] She unbuttoned her garments,
Uncovered her breasts and said: —Baghdasar,
That maiden you are taking is my sister.
I ran away [from her] seven years ago
Because of the suffering she inflicted on people
Through magic spells that she cast on them.
Like [the bird] haramic [a native wild bird of Armenia], I took flight to the hills,
Then fled to Ganatch Kaghak,
To the court of its king.
When I heard that you had broken her magic spell
And taken her for Sanasar,
I decided to come to you as your betrothed.
The two brothers and two maidens,
All four, together rode on to Sassoun.
They sent word to their mother:
—We are bringing the daughters of the King of Katcher,
Deghtzoun Dzam of Forty Braids and her sister.
Get together the trumpeters, drummers,
And minstrels for our wedding.
Dzovinar, their mother, then brought together
Forty trumpeters, forty drummers, forty minstrels,
And assembled all the people of the city.
Deghtzoun Dzam was wedded to Sanasar
And her sister was wedded to Baghdasar.
[107] For forty days and nights
They made merry with wedding feasts.
Baghdasar then took his wife to Baghdad,
Sanasar remained in Sassoun;
Baghdasar did not have a son;
To Sanasar God gave a son who was named Vergo.
A few years later two other sons were born to him—
One son was named Tzenov Hovan [Hovan with a loud voice],
The other son was named Mher.
Among these children Vergo amounted to nothing.
Tzenov Hovan had such a powerful voice
That he wrapped himself with seven buffalo hides
In order not to burst when he shouted.
Mher was the son more gifted than the other two.
Time went on.
Sanasar's days came to an end. He passed away.
Dzovinar Khanum and others—all passed away,
Leaving behind Kerry Toros, Deghtzoun,
Vergo, Tzenov Hovan, and Mher.
We will now tell of Mher.