The Epic of "Manas". The Death of the Heroes

The Death of the Heroes

A rumor swept through China
That Khan Manas was wounded.
The spirit of the Kangai people rose.
For Konurbai and Neskara
Their long-awaited hour had come.
Surrounding Beijinge in three circles,
To ensure that not a single one
Of the buruts left China alive,
And to drive out the Muslims,
They incited the townspeople to revolt.
And behold, a hundred thousand troops
Marched towards the city of Chet-Beijing,
To capture and destroy the Kyrgyz forces.
Raising Manas' red banner
And shouting the call "Manas! Urra!",
The fearless Almanbet led
The Kyrgyz troops against the enemy.
Receiving a fierce counterattack,
The Kangai began to retreat.
Neither Aizhanjun nor Kunjanzhun
Could hold them back.
But here, with a battle squad,
Konurbai came out to meet them,
And all of China rose behind him.
And like a mighty sea storm,
The whole nation went into battle —
And a merciless fight erupted.
Horses and people mixed here,
The ground was covered with corpses,
Human blood flowed like a river.
In dust, smoke, fire, and haze
Kyrgyz, Chinese, and Manju
Could not recognize each other.
A desperate scream, a death rattle
Resounded all around from all sides!
Maanikер died with his tulpar,
Son of Koketey Bokmurun —
He was slain by Kunjanzhun.
Under a hail of arrows,
Almanbet fought bravely.
Aizhanjun wanted to capture the hero alive
With his comrades.
Serik rushed to help —
He severed Janjun's head.
Surrounding Syrgak with a ring,
They tried to catch him in a net,
But Syrgak's horse, Kokchebich,
Would not let them catch him.
He kicked left and right,
His rider slashed from his shoulder.
Brave Muzburchak rushed to rescue him
With his comrades —
And Syrgak cut the net.
And forty warriors-choro:
Azhbay, Jamgyrchi,
Almanbet, Chubak, Syrgak,
Khan Kokche, and Muzburchak,
Sanjibek and Khan Urby —
Fought to the death as one,
To hold Beijinge in their hands.
But behold, a hunter named Shipshaidar
Came to the ranks of the Kangai troops —
A skilled archer — a master of shooting.
He could hit a target
With a precise arrow right in the eye.
Clutching his wounded shoulder,
The valiant Kokche fought on.
And then the Kangai Kunjanzhun,
In fear, turned to flee.
When Kokche caught up with him,
Suddenly Shipshaidar appeared —
And with a single precise shot
He struck the hero down.
At the Khan's camp, Muzburchak
Held Neskara with his warriors.
Losing his comrades in battle,
He fought back as best he could.
Then Shipshaidar appeared —
Muzburchak lost his life.
Brave er-Syrgak fought fiercely.
He knocked Konurbai off his horse,
Took Algara by the reins,
But then the winged Kokchebich
Stumbled, and Syrgak fell.
The cursed archer Shipshaidar
Managed to arrive here too —
And his released arrow
Struck Syrgak in the forehead.
He could no longer rise.
To save his friend,
Kokchebich fled to the mountains —
And there, death overtook him…
The hero Chubak was surrounded,
He fought desperately.
To capture Chubak alive,
They threw a large net.
But er-Chubak did not falter —
He tore the net with his hands.
There, the hunter Shipshaidar
Brought his squad of archers —
A master of shooting and killing,
And in a hail of arrows
The valiant Chubak was slain.
Serik the leopard also perished.
They parted with life: Khan Urby,
With him the young jester Aydar,
The mighty strongman Akayar,
The archer, slasher Akjoltoy,
Khan of Andijan Sanjibek —
The fallen cannot be counted.
Only Almanbet remained.
To avoid falling alive into the hands of the enemy,
Alma decided in his hour of death
To release his horse into the wild,
To pierce his chest with a dagger —
An ancient Chinese ritual.
But Shipshaidar did not let him
Kill himself with his own hand —
He released a precise arrow
And struck him straight in the neck.
Almanbet's friend Sarala
Galloped off with the hero —
No one could catch up with him.
The son of Yraman, Yrch-uu,
In tears informed Manas,
That there were no longer alive
The glorious and dear heroes,
And that in the desperate battle
Few of them remained in the ranks.
The wounded Manas cried:
— Why should I live when my dear
Heroes are no longer alive?!
For them, I will go to death!
Barely overcoming the pain,
He ordered to saddle Ak-Kulu —
And to the last mortal battle
He led the army behind him.

When the Chinese archers
Came close to Manas,
They released hundreds of arrows at the Khan.
But not a single one struck —
The strong armor saved him.
And then Shipshaidar decided
To deprive Manas of his steed —
And a black arrow
Struck the faithful horse in the throat.
Ak-Kula fell to his knees…

Epic "Manas". The Prayer of Manas