A poem by the scholar-poet Zava Damdin (1976- ). Please refer to the Index of Mongolian Poetry and Articles for other works that may be of interest.
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LEGENDARY BEINGS
Knowing victory, yet living so humbly
Victorious beings, forever wonderful
In the face of defeat, still wrestling honestly
Courageous-hearted ones, so wonderful
With the prospect of meeting, going with anticipation
Clever beings, so warm-hearted
With knowledge of not meeting, yet still going to greet again
Melodious-hearted ones, so beautiful
Knowing how to live well, but not proudly
Vast-minded beings, so much wisdom
Knowing that one is going to die, yet still smiling
Such miraculous beings, have great meaning
Hero’s Capital
Zava Damdin
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Translated by Zava Damdin and C.Pleteshner
English interpretation 17.04.2023 from the original Mongolian 13.04.2023
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ДОМОГТ БОДГАЛИУД
(Mongolian Original)
Ялахаа мэдсэн ч даруухан оршдог
Ялгуусан бодгаль ашид гайхамшигтай
Ялагдахаа мэдсэн ч шулуухан тэмцдэг
Яруухан бодгаль илүү гайхамшиг
Учрахаа мэдсэн ч догдлон явдаг
Ухаантан тэрбээр ялгуун зүрхтэй
Уулзахгүйгээ мэдсэн ч мэндлэхээр зорчдог
Уянгалаг тэрбээр үлэмж яруу
Амьдрахаа мэдсэн ч бардам үгүй
Агуужим төрөлхийтэн машид билигтэй
Үхэхээ мэдсэн ч инээмсэглэн байх
Үйзэн төрөлхийтэн агуу утгатай
Баатарын балгад
Зава Дамдин
13.04.2023
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SOURCE
A Bilingual Collection of Zava Damdin (1976- ) Poetry. Vol. 1 (2021-2024). The Zava Damdin Sutra and Scripture Institute Library Archive, Manjushri Temple Soyombot Oron, Mongolia. Unpublished manuscript. pp24-25.
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NOTES
Excluding the preparatory training and clarity of narrative structure and ideation required, the journey of such compositions tends to move through three phases, starting with: (i) the creation of the original composition with the vertical Mongol Bichig Script; (ii) the subsequent transfer and rendering of this transcript into the Mongolian Cyrillic Script; and then on to, (iii) a (British) English language interpretation, such as you see here. I bring to this interpretive exercise my own particular collection of English language narrative skills and their imagined audiences. From this perspective, a final English language version of a narrative emerges as a negotiated text.
Translation is always an interpretation into another culture.
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FURTHER READING
Artscape 10: The look of compassion: seated Quanyin connects the “warm-hearted” quality of this beautiful poem to the visual representation of Compassion (Quanyin).
Vignette 03: Enerel offers real-world example of an individual living with the integrity and “courageous heart” the poem describes.
Letter from Mongolia 08: Honouring the Past links the “Legendary Being” to an actual historical figure of great spiritual authority in your archive, grounding the above poem in real lineage.
Artscape 19: Balin for the New Year connects the “vast-minded” beings of the poem to the tangible, contemporary rituals performed in their honour.
Intermedia 04: The Wish to Make One’s Way Towards a Distant Enlightenment explores, musically, “altruistic intention” (bodhicitta).
Landscape 08: Women and re-place-ing Mongolian Buddhism expands into the social reality of how such spiritual and other qualities are being revitalised by certain people in post-socialist Mongolia.
end of transcript.
Refer to the INDEX for other articles that may be of interest.
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© 2013-2026. CP in Mongolia. “Mongolian Poetry 11: Legendary Beings” is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Open access should not be understood as the absence of attribution. Documents linked from this page may be subject to other restrictions. Posted: 30 March 2024. Last updated: 25 August 2026. |
