The Epic of "Manas". The Victory of Manas over the Envoys of Esen Khan

The Victory of Manas over the Envoys of Esen Khan

When the whole world was engulfed by a flood
And the earth was flooded with water,
In his ark, good Noah
Saved the living world from death.
But to Beijing in those years
The floodwaters did not reach.
There, on a patch of dry land,
Nine hundred families remained —
And from that time to this day
The Chinese people have lived there.
And now for many years
From the sea to the Great Wall
Khan Esen rules China.
There lived in the palace an old prophet,
Who could foresee fate for many years ahead
By reading from a sacred book.
He opened his sacred whip
And read to the khan,
That in Altai, where live
Kalmyk, Chinese, and Burut,
A valiant hero will be born.
A feast was arranged in honor of his birth,
And he will be named Manas.
And now he has grown up,
Created a strong fellowship.
He will bring much trouble.
For all the grievances of past years
The Burut will take cruel revenge,
He will win in all battles,
Capture and devastate Beijing.
And Esen Khan ordered everyone:
Find Manas and kill him!
Gathering his fighting squad,
Khan Zholoy of the Kalmyks
Went to Manas in Altai.
At that time, Manas himself
And forty loyal friends,
Tying their horses together,
Were playing in the ordo by the river.
And from the circle, Manas himself
Was kicking out the horse in excitement. And suddenly
From somewhere into that very circle
A loaded camel ran in.
Manas was very angry,
And with a strong bat — abalak
He struck with all his might,
And, like a bullet, flying through the air,
He shattered the camel's leg.
And two hundred strong men
Rushed to catch Manas.
Here, forty young men in an instant
Jumped onto their horses,
They went with clubs
To knock down the uninvited guests.
And soon two hundred strong young men
Lay on the ground.
Barely escaping, covered in blood,
Their leader Chon-Doodur.
To the Kyrgyz by the mountain path
Led his squad, Zholoy himself,
To catch Manas there,
And if they do not find him,
To take his father hostage.
Bai Jakyp learned about this
And said to his relatives:
— To stay alive,
Let’s give them
A herd of the best horses
And our daughters for wives.
There is no other way to save ourselves!
Then Manas said to his father:
— No, we will not yield to the enemy!
Father, do not be afraid, do not fear!
We have staked our lives!
When Zholoy comes here,
We will give him a worthy fight!
Zholoy came to the Altai region
And surrounded the camp of the Kyrgyz.
To avoid a bloody battle,
He proposed to surrender Manas.
Manas himself came out to meet:
— Let one of you come out to the meydan!
And if I fall from my horse,
Take me prisoner right here!
And if I knock yours down,
Then know — I will kill him!
Seeing the young man before him,
Khan Zholoy burst out laughing
And commanded Zor-Dongo
To immediately go out to the meydan.
With a crooked smile on his lips,
Zor-Dongo stepped forward.
And his appearance instilled fear in everyone:
His iron helmet gleamed;
In one hand, a huge shield,
In the other hand, a spear like a log;
From the steps of his horse
The ground trembled beneath his feet.
The young er-Manas did not flinch —
He rushed at him like an arrow;
Throwing his spear with all his might,
He struck Dongo in the neck.
— Kakhan! — commanded Zholoy,
And the whole squad as one
Rushed at Manas in a crowd.
But forty brave young men
Under the cry “Manas! Manas! Forward!”,
Like tigers, charged at them.
But then Zholoy, raising his spear,
Stopped his men.
He understood: they would not have enough strength
To subdue the Kyrgyz,
That they have their own defender,
Capable of giving a worthy fight, —
And he ordered to retreat.

The Epic of "Manas". The Childhood of Manas