| The Mother of God appeared to him in his dream. And said: - Arise, Sanasar, Here stands the Battle Cross Kneel down seven times and pray. It will be yours if you are worthy. Open the trunk nearby and take The shirt of mail, The girdle of armour, The helmet of mail, The shoes of mail, The heavy mace of the warrior, The strong spear, bow, and arrows, The bugle-horn, the impregnable shield; You take them all, Here they are. You will bath in the palace pool; And you will grow, gather strength and courage, Your strength will grow sevenfold] All of these implements he was gifted, are similar to the “gifts from the gods” given to Perseus and also mentioned in early Irish myth. From here on Sanasar was endowed with great strength and magical power. Then Baghdasar had a recurring dream. The Great Idol in the guise of a goat had come and grunted over his head at night. Baghdasar is then accompanied by Sanasar to venture back to the Khalif’s kingdom to fight him or be sacrificed. [People went to the khalif, gave him the good news - Light to your eyes! The boys have come back. The Khalif overjoyed, said: “Mighty is our Great Idol, he has brought back the sacrificial offerings I had pledged to him. Turning to his men, he said: - You were taunting me, Do you realize now the mightiness of my idols? He sent messengers to tell the boys: - The Khalif says, ‘Welcome my lads, You knew that it was the feast day of my idols. I am going to sacrifice you to them.’ The boys sent word: We knew that your idols are mighty, We came to be sacrificed to them. The following day the two brothers Went to the Khalif (Line Skips) We could not escape your idols. Mighty, very mighty is your Great Idol. He would not give us rest even at night. The Khalif said: - Well then, let us go to the temple, I want to sacrifice you to the idols. The boys said: - Long may you live, our King. We are children of royal blood, It is not befitting for us to be taken And sacrificed secretly. We beg you to summon all the people. To witness your sacrifice and glorify the idols. |
- Very well, said the Khalif. I will summon, gather all my subjects As you wish The boys returned to their tent.] Ultimately, the boys escaped this “sacrifice” by beating and tying up the Khalif. The boys mount their talking horse, named Kourkig Jelalay, who tells them not to be afraid and reminds them of the power of their Lightning Swords. They also have powerful maces as well. The boys then gained their bravery and set upon the hordes of men who were attacking them. [The two brothers dismounted Took the Khalif to their mother. From head to foot they tied him to a post. Fastened his head to a pillory. Lit a candle on his head, And sat down at his feet; Placed pomegranate wine on the table, Drank the red wine before his eyes, Feasted and made merry.] In the next part of the story, The Marriages of Sanasar and Baghdasar, Sanasar has a dream about the daughter of the King of Katcher, who goes by the name of Deghtzoun Dzam, and subsequently fell in love with her. She is an enchantress and sorceress who belongs to a race of mortals endowed with magic powers, capable of both evil and goodness. Deghtzoun Dzam sent a marriage proposal letter to Sassoun, the kingdom of the brothers, and by accident, the note was delivered to Baghdasar instead of Sanasar. Thinking his brother was getting married now without him, he became bitter and determined to kill his brother, Sanasar. But Sanasar was stronger, having bathed in the pool, and become strong. So they fought, and Sanasar hurt Baghdasar on the foot, but carried him home. On the way back they made up and each insisted the other was to have the maiden, out of the generousness of their hearts. Sanasar eventually agreed to go get the maiden. Upon reaching the city though Sanasar runs into several men frozen in place with beards which had been growing for a long time. When Sanasar inquired to them, he was told their condition was due to having magic spells cast upon them when they tried to reach the maiden. It appears that she has the power to turn young men into old men. While staying at an Inn, inside the city, the innkeeper revealed to Sanasar that the daughter of the king was a sorceress and Sanasar was advised to leave. But Sanasar inquired: |