Legend of Gessar Khan, the mythical hero of Asia, was the popular lore in Central Asia. For centuries it survived through oral tradition. The Imperial Academy of Sciences in St, Petersburg took upon itself the arduous task of putting the Mongolian legend into print. Later, one of the members of the team entrusted with constructing the text, translated it into German, It was only then that the epic fascinated the Westerners, The present translation in English presents a source of living material, on the, odes of speech and manners of life of the nomad tribes three centuries from now.
I Of the Hero's Birth and the strange events that preceded it, and of those wondrous exploits of his youth wherein his magic powers were revealed 11 II Of the wooing of the lady rogmo, wherein yoro proved himself most dauntless among heroes, and how in the end he revealed himself as gessar Khan 37 III Of Gessar Khan's Journey to china, where he restored peach to keeme Khan and his troubled kingdom, and how he was aided therein by a baldheaded smith 37 IV Of how chotong wreaked his vengeance upon the lady aralgo, and she was driven forth and sought shelter in the country of the twelveheaded giant 81 V Of the perils encountered by gessar in his journey against the twelve headed giant, and how he slew him at last and Drank the drink of forgetfulness 99 VI Of the march of the three Shiraigol Khans upon Tibet to seize the lady rogmo, and of the Glorious victory won over them by Gessar's faithful Heroes 123 VII Of the Treachery of the Vile chotong, whereby the three shiraigol khans were enabled to seize the beauteous lady rogmo and bear her into captivity 145 VIII Of Gessar Khan's Departure from the country of the twelve headed giant, and how he overthrew his enemies and succored the beauteous lady Rogmo 163 IX Of the Punishment meted out by Gessar to the Traitor chotong and how the son of heaven returned to rule over his people in the joy and wisdom of the Gods 183
|