A poem by Mongolian scholar-poet Zava Damdin (b. 1976). Please refer to the Index of Mongolian Poetry and Articles for other works that may be of interest.

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HOLD YOUR COURSE¹Tuylbartai bai (туйлбартай бай): the poem’s recurring injunction and title. An “injunction” is a firm instruction, command, or urging to act in a particular way. Tuylbartai carries senses of constancy, firmness, consistency, and persistence in what one has undertaken. I settled on,“Hold your course” rather than the more static “be steadfast” because the poemrepeatedly imagines constancy through movement: finding a path, setting out, becoming weary, turning back, and reaching a destination.

(English Translation)

If you have grown wiser through the counsel of your mother and father, hold your course.
Why forget what they have taught you for the sake of some fleeting gain?

If you have studied under a revered teacher, hold your course.
Why betray that learning for worldly status and passing renown?

If you have found the right path for this life, hold your course.
Why turn back, mistaking shallow fools for those with wisdom?

If you have discovered a way of life beyond the ordinary, hold to it.
Why trade a jewel-like khüleg for a donkey?²Khüleg (хүлэг): a riding horse or steed, but especially a horse understood as a worthy mount. In Mongolian the word is more particular than the generic “horse.” Here the poem does not merely contrast one animal with another, but a jewel-like khüleg with a donkey. The Mongolian term is retained so that something of the value carried by the original comparison remains visible.

If you love your home country, love it with a true heart and stand by it.³“Home country”: translates Mongolian ekh oron (эх орон), one’s homeland or native country. I have chosen “home country” partly with an ear to First Nations Australian uses of “Country,” where relationships with place encompass kinship, belonging, care and responsibility (cf. Tynan 2021). The comparison is not intended to make Mongolian and First Nations Australian traditions equivalent, but to let “country” carry something more intimate and relational than the modern political sense of “nation-state.”
Why plunder the treasures beneath its vast and open steppe?⁴“Treasures”: the Mongolian erdenesiin uurkhai (эрдэнэсийн уурхай) combines erdenes, “treasures” or “precious things,” with uurkhai, “mine.” The phrase can refer concretely to mineral deposits and mining, but erdenes retains the wider language of preciousness and value. “Treasures” was used here rather than narrowing the image to “mineral wealth.” There is a further cultural resonance. In Mongolian pastoral, Buddhist and local traditions, the land is not necessarily understood as inert ground from which resources may simply be removed. Mountains, waters and other features of the landscape may be associated with local guardians, nagas and animistic spirits, and ethnographic studies of contemporary Mongolia record concerns that mining and the disturbance of the earth can disrupt these relationships (cf. Abrahms-Kavunenko 2019; Empson 2019; Pískatá 2021). The poem does not state this explicitly, so it should not be read into the line as a single fixed meaning. It does, however, form part of the cultural world in which the force of “plundering” the treasures beneath the steppe may be heard.

If you love Mother Earth, understand nature and remain true to her.
Why cling to this armspan of a body and forget the mother who bears you?⁵“Armspan of a body”: Mongolian ald bie (алд бие). Ald is a traditional body-based measure corresponding to the span of a person’s outstretched arms.

However humble your task, know your obligations and responsibilities and see them through.
Why live a life that leaves your own little ones behind at the encampment?

Whatever you begin, hold your course through to the end.
Why treat what you do like a child’s game in the sand?

If you have set out for precious Mount Sümber, hold your course until the summit.⁶Sümber (Сүмбэр): the Mongolian name for the great cosmic mountain corresponding to Sanskrit Sumeru or Meru in Buddhist cosmology. In the poem it is a destination whose summit must be reached despite weariness. Retaining Sümber preserves the Mongolian name rather than silently replacing it with its better-known Sanskrit counterpart.
Why lose heart from a little weariness and think of turning back?

If you have offered an enduring andgai from your true heart, remain true to it.⁷Andgai (андгай): a solemn oath or vow through which one binds oneself to a commitment. I consider it to be stronger than an ordinary promise or declaration of intention. My reading is that Rinpoche’s poem speaks specifically about raising or making the andgai from the chin zürkh, a “true” and sincere heart.
Why sell your eleg zürkh for something cheap?⁸Eleg zürkh (элэг зүрх): literally “liver and heart.” The expression belongs to an embodied Mongolian vocabulary of deep feeling and attachment. English might reach for an expression such as “heart and soul,” but doing so would make the striking bodily language of the original disappear. Eleg zürkh is therefore left visible in the translation.

If you have resolved how to proceed, hold your course.
Why be led astray by assorted distractions?

If you have gained courage and resolve, hold fast to them.
Why falter like a warrior who has lost their arms?

If you have given your tender heart to someone, remain true to it.
Why flit, like a butterfly, from flower to flower?

If you have come to cherish another as a friend, stand by it.
Why change with every passing day and turn yourself into an object of ridicule?

If you have received an instruction from an exalted Bogd, remain true to it.⁹Bogd (богд): an honorific for an exalted, sacred, or venerable person, historically used in Mongolian titles for highly revered religious and sovereign figures. No single English title carries quite the same range. The word is therefore retained in the line “an exalted Bogd,” allowing the surrounding English to convey the reverence without replacing the Mongolian title itself.
Why dishonour it, as one who would go against the word of their Ezen Khaan?¹⁰Ezen Khaan (эзэн хаан): a sovereign or supreme ruler, combining ezen (эзэн), “master” or “lord,” with khaan (хаан), “khan” or “ruler.” “King,” “emperor,” and “sovereign” are all possible English approximations, but each brings its own political and historical associations. Retaining Ezen Khaan keeps the comparison within the vocabulary of the Mongolian poem.

If you have acted for the sake of truth, remain steadfast.
Why fool yourself with all manner of schemes and subterfuge?¹¹Translated by C. Pleteshner, 09.10.2026 from the Mongolian original dated 19.07.2020. Translation necessarily involves interpretation across languages and cultures. Any errors are entirely my own, and for these I humbly apologise.

Zava Damdin Rinpoche
19.07.2020

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ТУЙЛБАРТАЙ БАЙ

(Original Mongolian)

Эх эцгийн захиж сургасанд ухаажсан бол туйлбартай бай
Эгшин зуурын эрх ашгаасаа болж умартаж юун хийнэм

Эрхэм багшаас эрдмийг сурсан бол туйлбартай бай
Элдэв нийгмийн нэр сүрээс болж урваж юун хийнэм

Энэ насны зөв замаа олсон бол туйлбартай бай
Элмэг тэнэгүүдийг эрдэмт лүгээ барин буцаж юун хийнэм

Эгэлгүй явдал мөрийг олсон бол түүндээ туйлбартай бай
Эрдэнэ мэт хүлэг морио илжгээр сольж юун хийнэм

Эх орноо хайрладаг бол чин зүрхнээсээ туйлбартай бай
Ээрэм тал эрдэнэсийн уурхайгаа цөлмөж юун хийнэм

Эх дэлхийгээ хайрладаг бол байгалийг ойлгож туйлбартай бай
Энэхэн алд биеийг аминчилж эхийгээ умартах адилаар юун хийнэм

Эгэл ч бай үүрэг хариуцлагаа ухамсарлаж туйлбартай бай
Энхрий бяцхан үрсээ буурин дээрээ орхих мэт амьдралаар юун хийнэм

Эхэлсэн бол төгсгөлийг нь хүртэл туйлбартай бай
Элсээр наадах хүүхдийн тоглоом мэт үйлээр юун хийнэм

Эрдэнийн сүмбэр уулийг зорсон бол оргилд нь хүртэл туйлбартай бай
Эгэлхэн алжаалаар шантарч буцах бодлоор юун хийнэм

Эгнэгт чин зүрхний андгайгаа өргөсөн бол туйлбартай бай
Элэг зүрхээ хямдхан зүйлд худалдаж юун хийнэм

Эрсхэн явдлаар явна л гэж бодсон бол туйлбартай бай
Эрээвэр хураавар зүйлсэд сатаарч юун хийнэм

Эрэлхэг чин зоригийг олсон бол туйлбартай бай
Эрэмгий дайчин гаргүй болсон мэт болж юун хийнэм

Энхэр зүрхээ хэн нэгэнд өгсөн бол туйлбартай бай
Эрвээхэй мэт элдэв цэцэгсийг улиран явж юун хийнэм

Эрхэмлэн найз нөхөр болсон бол туйлбартай бай
Эргэх өдөр хоногоор хувирч инээдмийн орон болж юун хийнэм

Энгүй дээд богдоос зарлиг тоссон бол туйлбартай бай
Эзэн хааны зарлигийг зөрчих мэт дорд явдлаар юун хийнэм

Эгнэгт үнэний төлөө явсан бол туйлбартай бай
Элдвийн арга башраар өөрийгөө хуурч юун хийнэм

Зава Дамдин Ринбүчи
19.07.2020

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NOTES

• 1
  Tuylbartai bai (туйлбартай бай): the poem’s recurring injunction and title. An “injunction” is a firm instruction, command, or urging to act in a particular way. Tuylbartai carries senses of constancy, firmness, consistency, and persistence in what one has undertaken. I settled on,“Hold your course” rather than the more static “be steadfast” because the poemrepeatedly imagines constancy through movement: finding a path, setting out, becoming weary, turning back, and reaching a destination. ↩︎
• 2
  Khüleg (хүлэг): a riding horse or steed, but especially a horse understood as a worthy mount. In Mongolian the word is more particular than the generic “horse.” Here the poem does not merely contrast one animal with another, but a jewel-like khüleg with a donkey. The Mongolian term is retained so that something of the value carried by the original comparison remains visible. ↩︎
• 3
  “Home country”: translates Mongolian ekh oron (эх орон), one’s homeland or native country. I have chosen “home country” partly with an ear to First Nations Australian uses of “Country,” where relationships with place encompass kinship, belonging, care and responsibility (cf. Tynan 2021). The comparison is not intended to make Mongolian and First Nations Australian traditions equivalent, but to let “country” carry something more intimate and relational than the modern political sense of “nation-state.” ↩︎
• 4
  “Treasures”: the Mongolian erdenesiin uurkhai (эрдэнэсийн уурхай) combines erdenes, “treasures” or “precious things,” with uurkhai, “mine.” The phrase can refer concretely to mineral deposits and mining, but erdenes retains the wider language of preciousness and value. “Treasures” was used here rather than narrowing the image to “mineral wealth.” There is a further cultural resonance. In Mongolian pastoral, Buddhist and local traditions, the land is not necessarily understood as inert ground from which resources may simply be removed. Mountains, waters and other features of the landscape may be associated with local guardians, nagas and animistic spirits, and ethnographic studies of contemporary Mongolia record concerns that mining and the disturbance of the earth can disrupt these relationships (cf. Abrahms-Kavunenko 2019; Empson 2019; Pískatá 2021). The poem does not state this explicitly, so it should not be read into the line as a single fixed meaning. It does, however, form part of the cultural world in which the force of “plundering” the treasures beneath the steppe may be heard. ↩︎
• 5
  “Armspan of a body”: Mongolian ald bie (алд бие). Ald is a traditional body-based measure corresponding to the span of a person’s outstretched arms. ↩︎
• 6
  Sümber (Сүмбэр): the Mongolian name for the great cosmic mountain corresponding to Sanskrit Sumeru or Meru in Buddhist cosmology. In the poem it is a destination whose summit must be reached despite weariness. Retaining Sümber preserves the Mongolian name rather than silently replacing it with its better-known Sanskrit counterpart. ↩︎
• 7
  Andgai (андгай): a solemn oath or vow through which one binds oneself to a commitment. I consider it to be stronger than an ordinary promise or declaration of intention. My reading is that Rinpoche’s poem speaks specifically about raising or making the andgai from the chin zürkh, a “true” and sincere heart. ↩︎
• 8
  Eleg zürkh (элэг зүрх): literally “liver and heart.” The expression belongs to an embodied Mongolian vocabulary of deep feeling and attachment. English might reach for an expression such as “heart and soul,” but doing so would make the striking bodily language of the original disappear. Eleg zürkh is therefore left visible in the translation. ↩︎
• 9
  Bogd (богд): an honorific for an exalted, sacred, or venerable person, historically used in Mongolian titles for highly revered religious and sovereign figures. No single English title carries quite the same range. The word is therefore retained in the line “an exalted Bogd,” allowing the surrounding English to convey the reverence without replacing the Mongolian title itself. ↩︎
• 10
  Ezen Khaan (эзэн хаан): a sovereign or supreme ruler, combining ezen (эзэн), “master” or “lord,” with khaan (хаан), “khan” or “ruler.” “King,” “emperor,” and “sovereign” are all possible English approximations, but each brings its own political and historical associations. Retaining Ezen Khaan keeps the comparison within the vocabulary of the Mongolian poem. ↩︎
• 11
  Translated by C. Pleteshner, 09.10.2026 from the Mongolian original dated 19.07.2020. Translation necessarily involves interpretation across languages and cultures. Any errors are entirely my own, and for these I humbly apologise. ↩︎

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TRANSLATOR’S NOTES

This translation developed through several readings of the poem. An initial reading foregrounded its Buddhist register: the teacher, the Bogd, Mount Sümber, vows, truth, and the injunction to remain steadfast. A second reading attended more closely to a Mongolian pastoral and nomadic ways of knowing, as I have come to understand them: the khüleg, the steppe and its mineral wealth, home country and Mother Earth, the journey and its destination, the obligations linking parents, children, companions and land, and the recurring question of whether one holds one’s course or turns back.

The final translation does not treat these as competing interpretations. To the best of my abilities, it follows the poem as a Mongolian text in which Buddhist, pastoral, ethical and historical vocabularies coexist. Where an English equivalent seemed to narrow a Mongolian term or replace it with a culturally different concept, the Mongolian has been retained in romanised form and briefly explained above. The intention is not to make Zava Rinpoche’s poem wholly familiar in English, but to translate it without unnecessarily translating away the world from the socio-cultural world from which it speaks.

The original poem also has a strong sonic architecture that the English could not reproduce without forcing the translation. Its lines are overwhelmingly bound by initial Э (E) alliteration, giving the poem a cumulative oral cadence alongside the repeated tuylbartai bai. From my reading, I have come to understand that such Initial alliteration is a longstanding feature of Mongolian poetics (Fabb 2022, 143–44), and its loss in English here should be understood as one of the translation’s necessary compromises.

At a time when much in the world feels unsettled and beyond our control, I hope Zava Damdin’s words, through this translation, offer readers inspiration, reassurance, and a little strength to continue along the course you yourself have chosen. —CP

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FURTHER READING

For an ethnographic perspective on persistence and dedication, Letter from Mongolia 04: Close to one’s chest considers the relationships and quiet tenacity through which Mongolian cultural life is sustained.

In the Gobi, Vignette 01: Urantsetseg brings these qualities into an individual life through an ethnographic profile of spiritual resilience, domestic ritual and everyday practice.

For a more reflective treatment of what remains, Landscape 17: Echo considers shared words, voice and interpretation through the image of an echo lingering after the voice has passed.

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REFERENCES

Abrahms-Kavunenko, Saskia. 2019. “Mustering Fortune: Attraction and Multiplication in the Echoes of the Boom.” Ethnos. https://doi.org/10.1080/00141844.2018.1511610.

Empson, Rebecca. 2019. “Claiming Resources, Honouring Debts: The Cosmoeconomics of Mongolia’s Mineral Economy.” Ethnos. https://doi.org/10.1080/00141844.2018.1502799.

Fabb, Nigel. 2022. “Rhyme and Alliteration Are Significantly Different as Types of Sound Patterning.” In Rhyme and Rhyming in Verbal Art, Language, and Song, edited by Venla Sykäri and Nigel Fabb, 133–158. Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society. https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/60294/1/rhyme-and-rhyming-in-verbal-art-language-and-song.pdf.

Pískatá, Jessica Madison. 2021. “In Any Crystalline Land”: The Poetics of Human/Mineral Worlds in Eastern Mongolia. Doctoral dissertation. University of California. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/50b6d4w2.

Tynan, Lauren. 2021. “What Is Relationality? Indigenous Knowledges, Practices and Responsibilities with Kin.” Cultural Geographies. https://doi.org/10.1177/14744740211029287.

End of transcript.

Please refer to the INDEX for other poems and articles that may be of interest.

© 2013-2025. CP in Mongolia. “Mongolian Poetry 70: Hold Your Course” 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: 1 October 2026. Last updated: 1 October 2026.