Slavic myths and legends. Slavic myths

Alexander Afanasyev

Myths of the ancient Slavs

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The origin of myths, the method and means of studying them

The rich and, one might say, the only source of various mythical ideas is the living human word, with its metaphorical and consonant expressions. To show how necessary and naturally myths (fables) are created, we must turn to the history of language. In the life of a language, relative to its organism, science distinguishes two different periods: the period of its formation, gradual addition (development of forms) and the period of decline and dismemberment (transformations).

Every language begins with the formation of roots or those basic sounds in which primitive man designated his impressions made on him by objects and natural phenomena. The emerging concept was plastically outlined by the word as a true and apt epithet. Even to this day, in our regional dialects and in the monuments of oral folk literature, one can hear that figurative expression that shows that a word for a commoner is not always just a sign indicating a well-known concept, but that at the same time it depicts the most characteristic shades of the subject and bright, picturesque features of the phenomenon. Let's give examples: zybun - fragile soil of the earth in a swamp, run - running water, lei (from the verb to pour) - torrential rains, senognoy - light but persistent rain, listoder - autumn wind, creeping - snowblood that spreads low on the ground, torn - a skinny horse, a licker - a cow's tongue, a chicken - a hawk, a carkun - a raven, a chilly - a frog, a snake - a snake, a scab - an evil person, etc.; Folk riddles are especially rich in such sayings: blink - an eye, blow your nose, sniff and sniff - a nose, babble - a tongue, yawn and yadalo - a mouth, rakes and waves - hands, dejected - a pig, babble - a dog, tenacious - a child and many others, in which we find a direct, obvious indication to everyone of the source of the representation. Since various objects and phenomena can easily be similar in some of their characteristics and in this respect produce the same impression on the senses, it is natural that man began to bring them together in his ideas and give them the same name, or at least names, derivatives from the same root. The subject was outlined from different sides and received its full definition only in a variety of synonymous expressions. But it should be noted that each of these synonyms, denoting a certain quality of one object, at the same time could serve to designate the same quality of many other objects and thus connect them with each other. Here lies precisely that rich spring of metaphorical expressions, sensitive to the most subtle shades of physical phenomena, which amazes us with its strength and abundance in the languages ​​of the most ancient education and which subsequently, under the influence of the further development of tribes, gradually dries up. In ordinary Sanskrit dictionaries there are five names for hand, 11 for light, 15 for cloud, 20 for month, 26 for snake, 35 for fire, 37 for sun, etc.

Now let us imagine what confusion of concepts, what confusion of ideas should have occurred when the root meaning of words was forgotten; and such oblivion, sooner or later, certainly befalls the people. Moving more and more away from initial impressions and trying to satisfy newly emerging mental needs, the people discover the desire to turn the language they created into a firmly established and obedient instrument for transmitting their own thoughts. And this becomes possible only when the ear itself loses its excessive sensitivity to the spoken sounds, when, through the force of long-term use, the force of habit, the word finally loses its original pictorial character and from the height of poetic, pictorial representation descends to the level of an abstract name - it becomes nothing more than a phonetic sign to indicate a known object or phenomenon, in its entirety, without an exclusive relationship to one or another attribute. Most of the names given by the people under the inspiration of artistic creativity were based on very bold metaphors. But as soon as the original threads to which they were originally attached were torn, these metaphors lost their poetic meaning and began to be taken for simple, untransferable expressions and in this form were passed from one generation to another. Understandable to fathers and repeated out of habit by their children, they were completely incomprehensible to their grandchildren. Moreover, having survived centuries, fragmented into localities, exposed to various geographical and historical influences, the people were not able to preserve their language in all its integrity and the fullness of its original wealth: previously used expressions grew old and died out, became obsolete as grammatical forms, only sounds were replaced other related, old words were given new meaning. As a result of such centuries-old losses of language, the transformation of sounds and the renewal of concepts contained in words, the original meaning of ancient sayings became darker and more mysterious, and the inevitable process of mythical seductions began, which entangled the mind of a person all the more tightly because they acted on him with the irresistible convictions of his native word. The celestial bodies are no longer only in a figurative, poetic sense called “the eyes of the sky,” but in fact appear to the people’s mind under this living image, and from here arise the myths about the thousand-eyed, vigilant night guard Argus and the one-eyed sun deity; winding lightning is a fiery serpent, fast-flying winds are endowed with wings, the lord of summer thunderstorms is endowed with fiery arrows. Looking at the thundercloud, the people no longer saw Perun’s chariot in it, although they continued to talk about the air trains of the thunder god and believed that he really had a wonderful chariot. Where there were two, three or more names for one natural phenomenon, each of these names usually gave rise to the creation of a special, separate mythical person, and completely identical stories were repeated about all these persons - for example, among the Greeks next to Phoebus we find Helios.

Dear sixth graders! Why do we say “the wind is blowing”, “the rain is falling”, “the sun has set” and where do the expressions “glimpses of mind”, “brilliant mind” come from? Don't know? Do you want to know? Then this lesson is for you. The topic of the lesson is “Myths of the ancient Slavs. The ideas of the ancient Slavs about natural phenomena. Folk myth about the sun." You will get acquainted with the peculiarities of the beliefs of the ancient Slavs and the folk myth about the Sun, and learn about what traces of these beliefs remain in our lives. This is all the more interesting since there are no ancient Slavic literary monuments left. The main sources of information are medieval chronicles, works of Christians against paganism, chronicles, works of Byzantine authors, geographical descriptions of medieval Arab and European authors, as well as archaeological data, folklore, ethnographic and linguistic research, which provide rich material for the reconstruction of the religious ideas of the ancient Slavs. Here is the Folk Myth about the Sun... But by the way, everything is in order.

Topic: Myths of the peoples of the world

Lesson: Myths of the ancient Slavs. The ideas of the ancient Slavs about natural phenomena. Folk myth about the sun

Our ancestors, the ancient Slavs, like the ancient Greeks, imagined the world as the result of the action of the Gods and worshiped the forces of nature, because they were closely connected with it and depended on it. They represented the forces of nature in the form of living creatures, which, they believed, could help a person, and if they were angered, they would do evil. Even now we say: the sun has set and gone behind a cloud, although we do not at all imagine it in the form of a powerful deity who conquers darkness every morning. We say: the wind is blowing, the land is fertile, the storm is raging, the rain is falling. Thus, traces of mythological ideas have been preserved in our language.

The ancient religion of the Slavs, their worldview was paganism.

Paganism- belief in the existence of not one, but many gods.

The ancient Slavs, like other ancient peoples, expressed their knowledge in language myths.

Myths- these are works of folk fantasy that explain the structure of the world, natural phenomena, the meaning and causes of ongoing events.

Slavic mythology was no less rich than Greek or Roman; each sphere of human life was patronized by its own gods, to whom one could turn for help, and awareness of this probably made the difficult life of our ancestors easier.

Let's meet pantheon Slavic gods, and also compare it with pantheon Greek gods.

Pantheon- a collection of deities of any religion.

The supreme god of the ancient Greeks was Zeus, among the ancient Slavs it was Perun, who was also the god of war (among the Greeks the god of war was Ares). The god of agriculture among the Slavs is Yarilo; among the Greeks, the goddess of fertility and agriculture is Demeter. The god of fire among the Slavs is Svarog, among the Greeks - Hephaestus. The Slavs also had gods who accompanied them in everyday life: the goblin, the brownie, the bannik. The Greeks also had minor deities who lived in the forests and in the house.

Let's get to know the Slavic gods in more detail.

The ancient Slavs worshiped the god Svarog. He was considered the ruler of the Universe. In the darkness, he kindled the flames of lightning, breaking the clouds with them. He gave life to the Sun, so Svarog seemed to be the father of the Sun - Dazhdbog. Having given birth to Dazhdbog and other bright gods, Svarog retired, and his children began to rule the world.

Rice. 1. God of the ancient Slavs Svarog

Sometimes the Sun was represented as a queen, dressed in the purple robes of dawn and shining in a crown of rays. On Midsummer's Day, the Sun comes out to meet its husband the Moon, dances and scatters rays across the sky. And with the beginning of winter, the Sun and the Moon go in different directions and do not meet each other until spring. In the spring they meet and tell each other for a long time about where they have been and what they have seen.

Another son of Svarog - Perun - the god of thunder and lightning. He throws his lightning arrows and breaks the clouds with a powerful club. Thunder expresses his anger. His clothes and beard flutter all over the sky. Winds and storms are his breath.

Rice. 2. God of the ancient Slavs Perun ()

Powerful and active in the summer, Perun dies in the winter. Frosts seal his thunderous lips, the lightning club falls from his weakened hands, and the god rests in a cloud-coffin all winter. In the spring, Perun breaks his prison and throws his enemies from above. The heroic horse carries him in the blink of an eye to any place and beats his enemies with powerful hooves.

The god of the spring sun was Yarilo. There is both brightness and fury in his name. He was presented as young and beautiful. Dressed in white clothes, he rides on a white horse, on his head is a wreath of spring flowers, and in his hand is a handful of rye ears. And wherever he steps with his bare feet, thick rye immediately grows. Yarilo is the patron saint of love and fertility.

Rice. 3. God of the ancient Slavs Yarilo ()

But there were also gods hostile to man. One of these gods was Morana.

The most terrible deity, hostile to humans, is Morana, the goddess of night, winter and death. From this name darkness, pestilence, and darkness entered our language. The Slavs imagined that Morana lived in the north in the depths of rocks covered with eternal snow. She is omnipotent, but the bright gods put her in chains with the arrival of spring.

Rice. 4. Goddess of the ancient Slavs Morana ()

The origin of the world, the change of seasons, and the appearance of fire are explained by the folk myth about the Sun.

Mother Earth lay in darkness and cold. She was dead - no light, no heat, no sounds, no movement. And the eternally young, eternally joyful, cheerful Yar said: “Let’s look through the pitch darkness at Mother Earth, is she good, is she comely?” And the flame of the bright Yar’s gaze in an instant pierced the immeasurable layers of darkness that lay over the sleeping Earth, and where Yarilin’s gaze pierced the darkness, there the red sun shone. And hot waves of Yarilin’s radiant light poured through the sun.

Mother Cheese-Earth woke up from her sleep and stretched out in her youthful beauty. She greedily drank the golden rays of the life-giving light, and from that light, scorching life and languid bliss spilled throughout her depths. Yarilina’s speeches are loved by the Earth, she loved the bright god, and from his hot kisses she was decorated with cereals, flowers, dark forests, blue seas, blue rivers, silvery lakes...

She drank Yarilina’s hot kisses, and heavenly birds flew out of her depths, forest and field animals ran out of dens, fish swam in the rivers and seas, small insects, flies and midges huddled in the air.

We see that plants, animals, people are the children of Mother Earth and the god of the spring Sun-Father Yarila. The myth explains the appearance of all living things by love.

How is the appearance of intelligence in a person explained?

And everything lived, and everything loved, and everything sang songs of praise to Father Yarila, Mother Raw Earth. Then the Earth gave birth to man. And when he emerged from the bowels of the earth, Yarilo hit him on the head with a golden rein - a bright lightning, and from that lightning the mind was born in man. Yarilo greeted his beloved earthly son with heavenly thunders, streams of lightning, and from those thunders, from that lightning, all living creatures shook in horror: the birds of the sky scattered, the oak forest animals hid in caves, one man raised his rational head to the sky and responded prophetically to his father’s thunderous speech in a word, with a winged speech... And hearing that word and seeing his king and ruler, all the trees, all the flowers and grains bowed before him...

A person’s mind appeared from a blow to the head with a “golden rein-bright lightning,” and since then such expressions as “brilliant mind” and “glimpses of thought” have come to us.

How is the appearance of fire explained? What is its significance in the myth?

Then Yarila’s strength began to weaken, Mother Earth-Cheese began to grieve, fearing that everything would freeze. Yarilo consoled her, saying that he would return again, but for now he sent Fire to maintain warmth on the earth.

This is how people thought about the change from summer to winter and about the beginning of Fire. That is why our forefathers burned the dead - Yarilin’s son, who had fallen asleep in the sleep of death, was given to his father living in the fire. And then they began to give the dead to their mother - lowering them into her bed, that is, burying them in the ground.

According to Slavic mythology, Yarilo sent fire to the earth so that all living things would not freeze in winter. Fire is contrasted with darkness and cold. There are pagan folk holidays dedicated to honoring fire. This is Maslenitsa, when they bake pancakes - a symbol of the Sun and the origin of life, they burn a doll, Maslenitsa, which personifies Morana, the goddess of death. There is another holiday of Ivan Kupala. This is a popular summer holiday when those gathered jump over a fire.

The myth of the sun is poetic and lyrical. The imagery of language is achieved by using metaphors: “and the flame of the gaze... pierced... layers of darkness,” personifications: Mother Earth “woke up from sleep” and “began to feel sad” constant epithets: “dark forests”, “blue seas”, “blue rivers”, “silver lakes”, “bright-eyed god”, “prophetic word”. The unique rhythmic and melodic pattern of the myth creates inversion: “Mother Earth woke up from her sleep and spread out in her youthful beauty.”

Metaphor(Greek metaphora - transfer) - a word or expression used in a figurative sense, instead of another word, because there is a similarity between the designated objects.

Personification- a speech technique consisting in attributing qualities or actions inherent to a person to an inanimate object.

Permanent epithet- this is a colorful definition, inextricably combined with the word being defined and forming a stable figurative and poetic expression.

Inversion- a change in the word order adopted in the Russian language, that is, placing words in a sentence in a place that is syntactically unusual for them.

So, the mythology of the ancient Slavs consisted of their beliefs and ideas about the world around them: man, nature, space.

Like other peoples, the Slavs deified and spiritualized nature, that is, they believed that everything around lives, feels, understands, has its own desires, and fights for its existence. The Slavs especially revered the sun god Yaril, who patronized the flourishing of nature, love, and fertility.

As can be seen from the myth, the ancient Slavs associated the origin of man, as well as all “earthly creatures” and plants, with the sun god Yarila.

1. Afanasyev A.N. Tree of life. - M., 1972.

2. Butromeev V.P. Myths and legends of the ancient Slavs. - M., 2007.

3. Grushko E.A., Medvedev Yu.M. Dictionary of Slavic mythology. - N. Novgorod, 1995.

4. Literature. 6th grade. At 2 o'clock / [V.P. Polukhina, V.Ya. Korovina, V.P. Zhuravlev, V.I. Korovin]; edited by V.Ya. Korovina. - M., 2013.

5. Encyclopedia “Myths of the Peoples of the World”. - M., 1980-1981, 1987-1988.

2. Mythological encyclopedia ().

1. Retell the folk myth about the sun close to the text, preserving the features of the narrative.

2. Compile a dictionary of Slavic mythological characters:

Dazhdbog -

Kashchei the Immortal -

and others.

3. *Get acquainted with excerpts from the myths of different peoples about the creation of the world, answer the question: “What is common in the ideas of ancient people about the creation of the world?”

Material for analysis

Ancient people's ideas about the creation of the world

Ancient Egypt

“The sky did not yet exist and the earth did not exist. There was no soil or snakes in this place yet. I created them there - out of nothingness.”

Ancient Slavs

“Before the birth of white light, the world was shrouded in pitch darkness. Only our ancestor was in the darkness.

The clan gave birth to the heavenly Svarog and breathed into him its mighty spirit. I gave him four heads so that he could look around the world in all directions...”

Central America

“This is a story about how everything was in a state of uncertainty, everything was cold, everything was silent, everything was motionless, everything was quiet: in the space of the sky it was empty... There was neither man nor animal.”

Ancient India

“In the beginning there was nothing: no sun, no moon, no stars. Only the waters stretched endlessly. The waters gave birth to fire. With the great power of heat, the Golden Egg was born in them... A year later, the progenitor Brahma emerged from the Golden Egg. He broke the egg and it split in two. The upper half of it became the sky, the lower half became the earth, and between them Brahma placed the air space. This is how the universe was created."

IN At the beginning of time the world was in darkness. But the Almighty revealed the Golden Egg, which contained the Rod - the Parent of all things.
The clan gave birth to Love - Mother Lada and, by the power of Love, destroying its prison, gave birth to the Universe - countless star worlds, as well as our earthly world.

So Rod gave birth to everything that we see around - everything that comes with Rod - everything that we call Nature. The genus separated the visible, revealed world, that is, Reality, from the invisible, spiritual world - from Novi. Rod separated Truth from Falsehood.
In the chariot of fire, Rod affirmed thunder. The Sun God Ra, who emerged from the person of the Family, was established in a golden boat, and the Month - in a silver one. Rod released from his lips the Spirit of God - the bird Mother Sva. By the Spirit of God, the Rod gave birth to Svarog - the Heavenly Father.
Svarog finished making peace. He became the master of the earthly World, the ruler of the Kingdom of God. Svarog established twelve pillars supporting the firmament.
From the Word of the Most High, Rod created the god Barma, who began to mutter prayers, glorifications, and recite the Vedas. He also gave birth to the Spirit of Barma, his wife Tarusa.
The clan became the Heavenly Spring and gave birth to the waters of the Great Ocean. From the foam of the Ocean waters the World Duck appeared, giving birth to many gods - Yasuns and Dasun demons. The clan gave birth to the Cow Zemun and the Goat Sedun, and their milk became the Milky Way. Then he created the Alatyr stone, with which he began to churn this Milk. From the butter obtained after churning, Mother Earth of Cheese was created.

Alatyr

B The flammable stone Alatyr was revealed at the beginning of time. He was raised from the bottom of the Milk Ocean by the World Duck. Alatyr was very small, so the Duck wanted to hide it in her beak.
But Svarog uttered the magic Word, and the stone began to grow. The duck couldn't hold it and dropped it. Where the white, flammable stone Alatyr fell, the Alatyr Mountain rose.
The white-flammable stone Alatyr is a sacred stone, the focus of the Knowledge of the Vedas, a mediator between man and God. He is both “small and very cold” and “great like a mountain.” Both light and heavy. He is unknowable: “and no one could know that stone, and no one could lift it from the ground.”
When Svarog hit Alatyr with his magic hammer, gods were born from the sparks. The temple of the Most High was built on Alatyr by the half-horse Kitovras. Therefore, Alatyr is also an altar, an altar stone to the Almighty. On it, the Almighty Himself sacrifices Himself and turns into Alatyr stone.
According to ancient legends, Alatyr fell from the sky and the Laws of Svarog were carved on it. So Alatyr connected the worlds - the above, heavenly, and the manifest, below. The mediator between the worlds was also the book of the Vedas, which fell from the sky, and the magical bird Gamayun. Both the Book and the Bird are also Alatyr.
In the earthly world, Alatyr is revealed as Mount Elbrus. This mountain was also called Bel-Alabyr, White Mountain, Belitsa. The White River flows from Elbrus-Alatyr. In ancient times, near Elbrus there was a White City, where the Slavic tribe Belogors lived. Alatyr is connected with the heavenly world, Iriy, Belovodye - that is, with paradise through which rivers of milk flow. Alatyr is a White stone.

The Baksan River flows from Elbrus. Until the 4th century AD it was called the Altud River, or Alatyrka. These names contain the root “alt”, which means “gold” (hence “altyn”). Therefore, Alatyr is also a magic stone, the touch of which turns everything into gold. This is the Golden Mountain, Mount Zlato-gorki and Svyatogor. This means that Alatyr is the Holy Mountain.
There is also the Alatyr stone in the Urals on the Irian Mountains, where the sacred Ra River originates. And at its mouth on the island of Buyan there is also the Alatyr stone, which cures diseases and gives immortality. The Altai Mountains were also called Alatyr-mountains; the Golden Island of the Sun in the Northern Ocean was also called Alatyr-island.

Svarog and Semargl

IN at the beginning of time, when Svarog hit the white-flammable stone Alatyr with a hammer, from a spark carved from the stone, the Fire God Semargl was born, as well as all the heavenly Ratichi - Svarog’s warriors.
The luminous Fire God Semargl appeared in a fiery whirlwind, cleansing from all filth. He, like the Sun, illuminated the entire Universe. Near Semargl there was a golden-maned horse with silver wool. Smoke became His banner, and fire became His horse. Where He rode on His horse, a black scorched mark remained.
Then God's wind arose from the great fire of Svarog - thus the god of the winds Stribog was born. He began to fan the great flame of Svarog and Svarozhich-Semargl.
The Great Black Snake, born of the World Duck, decided to imitate Svarog. He crawled up to Alatyr and hit him with a hammer. From this blow, black sparks scattered throughout the world - this is how all the dark forces, the Dasuni demons, were born.
And then Semargl entered into a fight with the Great Black Snake and his army. But Svarozhich lacked strength, and the Red Sun dimmed. The Black Snake flooded the entire Earth with darkness. And Svarozhich went up to the heavenly forge to his father Svarog.
The Black Snake also flew to Svarga. He licked the three vaults of heaven with his tongue and climbed into the heavenly forge. And then Svarog and Semargl grabbed the tongue of the Black Snake with red-hot pincers, tamed it and harnessed it to the plow. Then the gods divided the Earth with this plow into the kingdom of Rev and the kingdom of Navi. Svarog and Semargl began to rule in Yavi, and the Black Snake began to rule in Navi.
Svarog and Svarozhich are Father and Son. The Most High Himself also appeared as the son of Svarog. Svarozhichi were Perun and Semargl.
The Book of Veles calls Svarog Tvastyr, that is, the Creator. He is also Tvashtar of Ved India. You should also know that the image of Tvastyr Svarog in India merged with the images of the Vedic Tvashtar, as well as Isvar (Lord Shiva), Indra (the owner of Svarga) and Brahma. The Shaivaites identified the creative power of Svarog with the Creator Shiva, and those who worshiped Indra did the same. Brahmanists identified the creative Word of Svarog with Brahma, consisting of the Vedas. Therefore, the Slavic iconography of Svarog is similar to the Hindu iconography of Brahma.
The myth was restored mainly according to folk legends about the battle with the Serpent of Kuzma-Demyan, the attack of Boris-Gleb, Nikita Kozhemyaka (who ousted Svarot and Svarozhich) and other related legends. See, for example: E.R. Romanov, “Belarusian collection” (Vyl. 4. Kyiv, 1885. P. 17). In these legends, magical blacksmiths (even Kozhemyaka and he is a blacksmith in the legend) forge in a fabulous forge, spread over 12 miles, it has 12 doors (according to the number of zodiac signs, like Vedic temples). 12 assistant hammermen are also mentioned. They forge a sword, a plow, a bowl (as in the Scythian legends about the Heavenly Blacksmith, set forth by Herodotus). It is also said that they “forged the first plow for people,” which, when compared with the news of the Ipatiev Chronicle for 1114 about Svarok, the first Heavenly blacksmith, allows us to identify Kuzma-Demyan (Boris-Gleb) and other later deputies with Svarog and Svarozhich Semargl.
“Kuzma-Demyan, people of old say, the first wine was the first man of God, as the retinue will be honored by Tsei Kuzma-Demyan was the first forge and the first crusher of the plow at the saint... (Kuzma-Demyan fought with the Snake.). This snake mercilessly devoured people, leaving no one behind: neither old nor small. Where it yawned, people perished, like grass eating the horns of cattle, and like millet on the sun... "
Semargla calls Fire God the “Book of Veles” (“smaga” in Old Russian - flame). The plot of the initial battle between the Creator of the World, the god of Fire and the Serpent is known to the Vedas and Avesta, but the song itself was preserved only in the Slavic tradition.
The description of Fire God is in the conspiracies: “Father, you are the King of Fire, you are the king of all kings, you are the fire of all fires. How you burn and scorch grass-ants, thickets and slums in a field, underground roots of a damp oak tree, seventy-seven roots, seventy-seven branches... so they slept from the servant of God's sorrow..."
In the “Book of Veles” (Kryn 3:1) there is glorification of Semargl as the god of Fire and Moonlight
“We praise the Fire God Semargl, who gnaws the tree. Glory to him, the Fire-haired One, with a face that turns pink morning, noon and evening! And we give to him because he creates food and drink. And we keep him alone in the ashes. And it rises and burns over our land, from the time the Sun goes down, and until the Sun is born again, until it is led to and through the meadows of Khors.”
The glorification of the god of Fire-Sun is in the songs of the Bulgarians:

Svarga

P After the battle of the gods with the Black Snake, Svarog and Svarozhichi descended to Earth. And they saw that the whole Earth was mixed with blood. And then they cut Mother Earth, and she absorbed the blood.
Svarog and Svarozhichi began to arrange the world. Where the Serpent, harnessed to a plow, laid furrows, the Don, Danube and Dnieper rivers flowed there.
The Riphean Mountains appeared at the site of the battle with the Serpent. In the Riphean Mountains above the White Alatyr Mountain, from which the White River flows, Svarog established Svarga - the heavenly kingdom of the gods. On this mountain a sprout rose, which grew into the sacred Elm, connecting the world. The World Elm extended its branches to the sky itself.
On the eastern branches of the tree Alkonost made a nest, and on the western branches - the bird Sirin, in the roots - the Serpent moves. The heavenly king - Svarog himself - walks near the trunk, and with him - Mother Lada.

“The Book of Kolyada”, 1st century

In the Riphean Mountains near the Alatyr Mountain, other magical trees began to grow. A cypress rose on Mount Hwangure - the tree of death. On Mount Berezan there is a birch tree, the tree of poetry, dedicated to the god Karma. And on Mount Alatyr, Svarog planted the Irian Garden. Here a cherry tree rose, dedicated to Vyshny, where Gamayun flies. Nearby a sunny oak appeared - up with roots, down with branches: its roots are from the Sun, and its twelve branches are the essence of the twelve Vedas.
An apple tree with golden apples also rose on Alatyr Mountain. Whoever tries these golden apples will receive eternal youth and power over the Universe.
All approaches to the garden are guarded by griffins, basilisks, snakes and mountain giants. And the apple tree itself with golden apples is guarded by the dragon Ladon. There is no passage here for either foot or horse.
There are descriptions of Iria in many songs. For example, P.V. Kireevsky. “Collection of folk songs” (Tula, 1986. P. 215). There is this description in the legend about Father Agapia, “Monuments of Ancient Rus' of the 12th century.” (M., 1980): “(On the paradise island where Agapius arrived) ... various trees and flowers, different blooming, and various fruits that no one has ever seen. Birds in various plumages sat in the trees. Some had feathers like gold, others were crimson, others were red, others were blue and green, and all of them were decorated with various beauties and variegations. And there were also birds as white as snow. And all the birds had different voices, and they chirped while sitting in front of each other, wove different songs, some in a loud voice, others in a quiet voice, and others in a thin voice, others in a gentle voice, for each bird sang in harmony in harmony; their songs and all their splendor are such that no one has heard in this world.”

You can compare this 12th century text with the caption to a popular print about a journey to paradise of a certain monk who lived for three hours in paradise for 300 earthly years (see Rovinsky D.A. “Russian folk pictures”, vol. 3, SP6., 1881) :

“Some perfect in virtues a monk, sitting in his cell, flew in some small and beautifully crafted birds, and they were so beautiful that the human mind could not understand... Be it a field of beautiful flowers and a wonderful tree, and birds flying into a tree, you began to sing a wonderful and sweet song, as if you had come into oblivion The monk knows how much he stands, rejoicing and having fun at the bird and its beauty and sweet singing and the young flower-like field.”

These texts go back to the ancient Vedic legends about paradise.

Compare with the description of Iriy in Trigl. 20:

“... The Ra River flows there, which separates the heavenly Svarga and Reality (...) You reached our Iria, here you saw wonderful flowers, and trees, as well as meadows (...) And here (here) Mother Sva beats its wings on its sides on both sides, as if in fire, all shining with light. And all her feathers are beautiful, blue, light blue, yellow and silver, gold and white. And just as she shines like the King Sun, she flies to Yasuni (Irin).”

Other Vedic traditions give the same description of heaven.

Compare with Indian legends:

“There is an incomparable Mount Meru, sparkling, rich in brilliance... Terrible animals roam on it, wonderful herbs bloom on it... It is covered with rivers and trees and resounds with flocks of various birds that delight the heart...”

(Mahobharata. Adiparva, book 1, The Tale of Astika. Ch. 15-16).

Chinese also speaks about heavenly foods "Book of Mountains and Seas":

“Birds live on Mount Dan-xue (Kun-Lun ridge)... In appearance they resemble roosters, multi-colored with patterns. They are called huang-feng (phoenixes). These birds eat and drink when they want, and sing and dance when they want. Their appearance heralds peace and tranquility in the Celestial Empire.”

The magical birds Gamayun, Finist-Phoenix, Alkonost and Sirin are the most beloved characters of ancient Russian art. “Kozmography” of 1670 tells about Gamayun and Phoenix (Phoenix) arriving on the Makari (“macro” translated from Greek “blessed”) island:

“The island of Makaria under the very east of the sun is near paradise. The birds of paradise Gamayun and Phoenix fly to this island, the fragrance is wonderful, there is no winter there.”

The source of the images of Alkonost, Sirin, etc. is usually seen in Greece (the myth of Alcyone, who became a kingfisher; the sirens from the Odyssey, etc.). However, Russian images are much more archaic; one should only talk about the common Vedic source of these images for Rus' and Greece. see Old Russian Azbukovnik (GPB, O. XVI 1).

“Alkonost, there is a bird named Alkonost, which has a nest on a sandbank at the edge of the sea and lays its eggs there; there is a time when she is born as a child in the winter year, but when she senses the departure of her child, she takes her child in her eggs and carries it into the middle of the sea and releases it into the depths, then the sea with many storms rushes to the shore, but when Alkonost lays her eggs in one place and he sits on them at the top of the sea and with her egg, in the depths, existing, and the sea is not shaken, in seven days, until Alkonostov’s eggs hatch into the waters, in the depths, but when they come out, they do not know their parents, this seven-day ship they call it Alkonostsky (...). Sirin, there is a bird from head to waist, the composition and image of a man, and from the waist there is a bird; The people are talking about this, saying very well about the depths of her existence, as if anyone who listens to her voice should forget her whole life and go into the desert along it in the mountains to die astray (...).”

There are images of the trees of paradise in the “Dove Book”; they are common to all Vedic descriptions of paradise, including the biblical one. The image of an inverted tree of paradise, as Vedic Knowledge descending from heaven, is found in Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian conspiracies. See, for example: A.A. Potebnya. “Explanation of Little Russian and related folk songs” (II. Warsaw, 1887. P. 225):

“On the sea, on the okiyan, on an island, on a mound, there is a white birch tree with its branches down and its roots up. On that birch tree is the mother of the Most Holy Theotokos...” The same image is in the Bhagavad-Gita, ch. 15. “There is an immortal banyan tree, whose roots grow upward and its branches grow downward, and its leaves are Vedic hymns. He who knows this tree knows the Vedas.

IN In the Upanishads to the Bhagavad Gita, this tree is called the “eternal fig tree.”

Kolo Svarog

WITH Varga is also the Starry Sky, called the Wheel of Svarog. The structure of this Wheel is complex. It is fortified at the Polar Star or Sedava-star, on Stozhar-Stlyazi - the celestial axis.
It revolves around Stozhar in one day and makes a revolution in a year. The slowest rotation, known only to the sages, lasts about 27 thousand years. And this rotation leads to the fact that the zodiacal constellations, visible at the moment of the spring equinox in the North, slowly replace each other. This time is called the Day of Svarog. They are divided into twelve zodiac eras, each of which lasts just over two thousand years.
The sun moves along the solar path belt and passes over one zodiacal era from one zodiac sign to another. Now we live in the fierce era of Pisces, the era of Roof-Aquarius is approaching.
Calculates the duration of eras and the duration of the Days of Svarog, the god of time and astrologers - Chislobog.

The Wheel of Svarga rotates slowly. It is driven by Perun Svarozhich himself. Chislobog tells him the numbers, and people pray to Perun so that he does not stop monitoring the world order, the rotation of the Star Wheels.

The hands of the Cosmic Clock move from one zodiac sign to another. And in a new sign, in a new zodiac era, the forces of the Cosmos manifest themselves in accordance with the Law given in the Vedas.

Makosh

M Akosh is a great goddess. She possesses the secret of Rule, the secret of Kolo Svarog. Both gods and people obey her commands.
She monitors the observance of customs and rituals. She has mercy and rewards those who firmly stand for ancient customs. High in the heavenly palace she sits with her assistants Dolya and Nedolya, spinning the threads of destinies.

Makosh - Heavenly Mother, Heavenly Law, Rule. The third face of God. The first face is the Father, the second is the Son, the third is the Mother. For the Mother is the Spirit of God who sets the World in motion. It is the Mother who gives life to the Son. And this means - the World changes, after the Father the Son appears, then the Son Himself becomes the Father and again gives birth to the Son.
Makosh knows the secret of destinies, the secret of previous lives and new incarnations. It requires a person to follow the destined path. It also gives freedom of choice between good and evil, where good is following the path of Rule, and evil is deviation from it. Those who go aside, destroy themselves and their souls - Makosh punishes mercilessly. They reincarnate on earth again, but no longer as people.
Makosh is a woman, and therefore changeable - she can bring both joy and sorrow. She has mercy and rewards only those who are strong in spirit and who are fighting for happiness. It provides a way out of the most hopeless situations, if a person does not despair, if he goes with all his strength, if he has not betrayed himself and his dream. And then Makosh sends the goddess of happiness and good luck to the person - Srecha. And then the man opens the door, takes a step and Srecha meets him.
But if a person has given up, lost faith, betrayed his dream, got tired and given up on everything - they say. The curve will take him out, then he will be bitterly disappointed. Makosh will turn away his face. And the outcast will be led through life by monstrous old women - Dashing One-Eyed, Crooked, Not Easy, Week, Nesrecha - to where the snakes lament over the graves of Karn and Jelly.
The goddess Makosh was part of the pre-Christian pantheon of Vladimir. It is mentioned in all teachings against paganism of the 9th-14th centuries. She was often mistaken for the goddess of spinning, since ethnographic records of the 19th century preserved legends about how “Mokusha goes around houses and disturbs spinning women.” In Russian villages, the custom of not leaving the tow after work has been preserved, otherwise “Mokusha will spin.” There was a belief: “If spinners are dozing and their spindle is spinning, then they say that Mokusha spun for them.”

In the “Tale of Idols” there is a record about the goddess Mokosh:

“...the same gods are required to create the Slovenian language: Vilam and Makoshi and Diva, Perun. Khursu...” Here she is compared with Hecate, the Greek goddess of prosperity: “Anoint the goddess Ekatia, create this maiden and honor Makosh...”. Fate depended on Mokosh: what kind of “cat” lot you would get. Her image was supplanted by Paraskeva Friday, Mary the Mother of God.
On the sea-ocean, on the island of Buyan, lies the white-flammable stone Alatyr, on that stone there is a room, in that room there is a red maiden, the Mother of God with two sisters, they are spinning and weaving a silk thread.

From Russian conspiracies

Once upon a time there lived a woman... called Happiness and she was created as if she were a living person. Only in two places is there a visible hole: her back did not bend and she had one eye, and even that one sees upward on the crown of her head, but she grabs with her hands in vain. doesn’t know how... will start to rise up to look in the face: is it for real? It will rise above its head, look from the crown of the head with one eye, and throw it from its hands, without regret, straight to the ground: some are exhausted, others are hurt and die. No, not it!

From the parable of an old schismatic man.

Veles and Azovushka

IN In the beginning, Veles was born by the Heavenly Cow Zemun from the god Rod, who flowed from the White Mountain by the Solar Surya, the Ra River.
Veles appeared in the world before the Most High, and appeared as the Descent of the Most High. Vyshen then came to people and incarnated as the Son of Svarog and Mother Sva. Like the Son who created the Father. And Veles appeared as the Descent of the Almighty for the entire living world (for people, magical tribes and animals), and incarnated as the son of the Heavenly Cow and the Family. And therefore Veles came before Vyshny and paved the way for Him, preparing the world and people for the coming of Vyshny.
The born baby Veles was kidnapped by the god Pan, the son of Viy, the king of the underworld. He picked up his cradle and carried it over the ocean. But then Veles began to grow and get heavier. Pan couldn't hold back the baby and dropped it along with the cradle.
Veles in a cradle sailed to the shores of a large island, which in memory of this event was called Taurida (“Tavr” means “bull”, and Veles Bykovich). Here Veles fought with the Kite and saved the Swan Princess, the spirit of the Sea of ​​​​Azov, who was called Azovushka. Azovushka was the daughter of Svarog and Mother Sva.
Veles and Azovushka fell in love with each other, soon got married and began to live together. Buyan Island on the Azov and Black Seas became their magical abode. On that island there is a palace, in front of the palace there are magical oak and spruce trees.

Veles leaves for Azov - the mountain

TO When Dy imposed too heavy a tribute on the people, they stopped giving him sacrifices. Then Dyy began to punish the apostates, and people turned to Veles for help.
God Veles responded and defeated Dyi, destroying his heavenly palace, made of eagle wings. Veles threw Dyya from the sky into the kingdom of Viy. And the people rejoiced:

But then Dy, with the help of Viy, rose to Earth again and arranged a feast, to which Veles himself was invited, as if for reconciliation. When Veles came to this feast, Dyy offered him a spell with poison. Veles drank it and went himself to the kingdom of Viy, and was imprisoned in the farthest cave.
And then Azovushka came to his aid. She went down to Viy and begged him to let Veles go.
And then Veles and Azovushka walked through the underground halls and palaces to the exit. But at the very exit from the caves, the voice of the Most High was heard, saying that Azovushka could come out here, but Veles, who had lost his previous body, would have to go through another gate, that is, after many generations he would be born again.
But Azovushka did not want to leave Veles. And after Azov Mountain closed, she remained with Veles to wait for other times.
And then Veles died and was born many times, he was Don, the son of Danu, and Ramna, the son of Ra, and Taurus, as well as As and Asila, Aster. His wife Azovushka also had many faces.

Another birth of Veles.

IN Another time, Veles was born to Zemun Korova’s daughter Amelfa along with her sister Altynka. His father was the sun god Surya-Ra himself.
When Veles and Altynka were little, Amelfa let them go to learn to read and write and they read in the Vedas that in ancient times, the Svarozhichi and Dyevichi freed the cloud cows from Viy’s captivity, and then the Svarozhichi took them for themselves. But those cows are the sisters of their mother Amelfa, and therefore Veles and Altynka decided to return them.
They drove the cloud-cows from Iriy to Mount Azov. Svarog and Svarozhichi did not tolerate such self-will. Dazhbog gave chase and wanted to take the cows from Veles. But when he heard his song and playing the magic harp, he forgot about everything in the world and exchanged those cows for the harp of the god Veles.
Veles learned to play the harp and sing from Vyshny and Zhiva. And people marveled at his art and said:

Veles teaches people.

P Therefore, Veles asked Svarog to forge him a plow, as well as an iron horse to match him. Svarog fulfilled his request. And Veles began to teach people arable farming, how to sow and reap, how to brew wheat beer.
Then Veles taught people faith and wisdom (knowledge). He taught how to make sacrifices correctly, taught stellar wisdom, literacy, and gave the first calendar. He divided people into classes and gave the first laws.
And those who did not listen to him, did not want to study and work, Veles punished them: he would meet a lazy person, grab him by the arm or leg - and it would be good if he only threw him away, otherwise he could punish him even worse.
People began to complain to Amelfa. And Amelfa began to scold him. Veles didn’t like that zhurba. He gathered the soldiers and came to the brotherhood feast in the nearest village. The squad started drinking and going for walks. And then, as at a funeral feast, they began to compete in strength. At first it was a joke, but when they separated, they started a real massacre.
Veles wanted to break up the fight, but then some guy walked in from his toes and hit Veles on the ear.
Oh, and Veles got angry! He called his squad together - mules, wolfhounds and other forest dwellers - and went to beat everyone who came to hand.
The men again ran to Amelfa to ask for protection, and she sent her youngest daughter, Altynka, to calm Veles. Altynushka ran to Veles and dragged him to his dear mother for trial, and she locked her son in the cellar.
And his squad was left without a leader. And the people pushed back the forest people and began to beat them. And Altynka saw it when she was walking on the water, and decided to release Veles. She ran and opened the cellar.
Veles jumped out into the wide yard, uprooted a hundred-year-old elm and ran to help the squad. He began to wave his elm tree, and the people obeyed him. They brought gold and silver to Veles.

Veles's repentance.

N Veles did not sit at home, he wandered around the world with his comrades, sailed across the blue seas. Where he traded, and where he fought.
He has been through a lot. He defeated Dyi and the Dyevichs when they kidnapped his sister and mother. He turned the Black Dyevy Mountains into the White-Golden Altai Mountains. He helped the god Perun free himself from captivity and defeat the Skipper-beast.
Veles was busy with earthly affairs, was at enmity with the family of Dyya and Viy, and in those battles he also destroyed the people who worshiped these gods. That struggle was endless, and its meaning was not in victory, but in the struggle itself. And therefore the time has come for him to cleanse himself and repent before the Almighty.

Once Veles was sailing across the Black Sea. And he said to his Ushkuin friends:
- Oh, that one, shipbuilders! We have destroyed many human souls, now it is time for us to save our souls. We need to go to Alatyr in the heavenly Irian garden!
How to get to Alatyr? The straight road doesn't take long to swim. To reach the mouth of the Ra River and Smorodinka with a fair wind, then past Buyan Island, along the Smorodinka River - it will take only seven weeks.
But that path is guarded by mountain giants, they throw stones from the mountains and sink ships. And if you take a roundabout path, you will need to get there through the seas of the Firmament - the earthly, Atlantean, White, and then go down the rivers - you won’t get there in two hundred years!

And they went along the straight path. We swam to the mouth of the Ra River, to Mount Sarachinskaya. They abandoned the gangplank.
And Veles and his squad climbed to the top of the Sarachin Mountain. When Veles got to the middle of the mountain, he saw a huge skull lying. Veles kicked him and continued walking. And he heard a prophetic voice:
- Goy, you. Veles son Surevich! Where the brave head lies, was Valu, defeated by Indra! That fellow was no weaker than you!
Veles climbed to the very top. He sees the Black Stone lying there. And on that stone there is an inscription:

Veles looked at the pebble and wanted to amuse himself, but he thought and thought and didn’t.
They came to Veles Goryn and asked:

where Veles is heading.

Veles replied that he was going to Alatyr Mountain in order to pray in the temple of the Most High and cleanse himself in the milk river.
- Pray for us too, violent Veles! - the Goryns asked him.

And Veles swam, first along the Ra River, then along the Smorodinka River. And I got to Svarga.
And he prayed in the temple of the Most High, and asked God for forgiveness for his great sins, asking both for his squad and for Goryn. And then I swam in the milk river. His whole squad also swam in the river.

And on the way back Veles again landed at Sarachinskaya Mountain. He went up to the Black Stone and began to amuse himself, have fun, and began to jump over it. And then the ancient prediction came true, and Veles became the Guardian of the Currant River, the Ra River and the Black Stone.

Veles and Yasunya.

IN Yeles and Perun were inseparable friends. Perun honored the god Veles, for thanks to Veles he gained freedom, was revived and was able to defeat the fierce enemy of his Skipper-beast.
But, as often happens, a woman destroyed a man’s friendship. And all because both Perun and Veles fell in love with the beautiful Diva Dodola. But Diva preferred Perun and rejected Veles.
However, then Veles still managed to seduce Diva and she gave birth to Yarila from him. But then he went, outcast, wherever he looked, and came to the Smorodina River. Here he met giants - Dubynya, Gorynya and Usynya. Dubynya pulled out oak trees, Gorynya moved mountains, and Usynya caught sturgeons in Smorodino with his mustache. Veles fraternized with the giants, and they rode together. They wanted to cross the Smorodina River. But how to do this? Usynya helped out his friends. He spread his mustache across the river, and then along his mustache, like on a bridge, everyone crossed to the other side. And they saw a hut on chicken legs by the river.
And Veles said that this is the house of Buri Yaga, who previously in another life (when he was the god Don) was his wife Yasunya Svyatogorovna. But then he died and out of grief she turned into Storm Yaga.
The gods entered the house and stayed overnight. The next morning they went into the forest to hunt, and only Gorynya remained in the house. Then the blue sky darkened, dust whirlwinds swirled, the oak forests bowed - and in a fiery mortar, Storm Yaga the Golden Leg flew in, covering her trail behind her. She beat Gorynya and ate the whole lunch.
The next day they left Dubynya in charge of the house, and on the third - Usynya. The same story happened to them. Finally, Veles remained in the house.
Yaga arrived and began to fight with Veles. But then they made peace, recognizing each other, and became husband and wife. However, Amelfa, Veles’ mother, did not like this very much. “How did you, Veles, marry a witch with green skin?” - she was surprised.
And she decided to kill Yaga. She locked Veles's wife in a bathhouse, which she then heated so hot that she killed her. And then she imprisoned Yaga’s body in a coffin-block and let the coffin float on the Khvalynsk Sea.
Veles, with the help of the heavenly gods, freed and revived Yaga. But at the behest of his mother and the Vyshny law, which prohibits marrying without parental blessing, he was forced to leave her and was very sad that his parents did not recognize Yasunya Svyatorovna in Yaga. And Yaga-Yasunya returned to her hut near the Smorodina River. But then she came to Veles again and showed other faces.

Taken from http://druidgor.narod.ru/

Myths of the ancient Slavs. History of Slavic culture and mythology. The existence of the ancient Slavs was closely connected with nature. Sometimes helpless before her, they worshiped her, prayed for shelter, harvest and successful hunting, for life itself. They animated the tree and the river, the sun and the wind, the bird and lightning, noticed the patterns of natural phenomena and attributed them to the good or evil will of mysterious forces.

The white-flammable stone Alatyr was revealed at the beginning of time. He was raised from the bottom of the Milk Ocean by the World Duck. Alatyr was very small, so the Duck wanted to hide it in her beak.

But Svarog uttered the magic Word, and the stone began to grow. The duck couldn't hold it and dropped it. Where the white-flammable stone Alatyr fell, the Alatyr Mountain rose.

The white-flammable stone Alatyr is a sacred stone, the focus of the Knowledge of the Vedas, a mediator between man and God. He is both “small and very cold” and “great as a mountain.” Both light and heavy. He is unknowable: “and no one could know that stone, and no one could lift it from the ground.”

Churila, who lived in Svarga, was so handsome that he drove all the celestials crazy. And he himself fell in love, and not even with an unmarried woman - with the wife of the god Barma himself, Tarusa.

“A sad thing happened to me,” Churila sang, “from the sweetheart of the red maiden, from the young Tarusushka... Are I sorry for you, my maiden, I keep suffering in my heart, is it because of you that I can’t sleep on a dark night...

In a broad sense, the Vedic and pagan culture of the Russian people is the essence of Russian folk culture, which is fundamentally united with the culture of all Slavic peoples. These are Russian historical traditions, life, language, oral folk art (legends, epics, songs, tales, fairy tales, and so on), ancient written monuments with all the knowledge contained in them, Slavic wisdom (philosophy), ancient and modern folk art, the totality of all ancient and modern creeds.

In the beginning, Veles was born by the Heavenly Cow Zemun from the god Rod, who flowed from the White Mountain by the Solar Surya, the Ra River.

Veles appeared in the world before the Most High, and appeared as the Descent of the Most High. Vyshen then came to people and incarnated as the Son of Svarog and Mother Sva. Like the Son who created the Father. And Veles appeared as the Descent of the Almighty for the entire living world (for people, magical tribes and animals), and incarnated as the son of the Heavenly Cow and the Family. And therefore Veles came before Vyshny and paved the way for Him, preparing the world and people for the coming of Vyshny.

Veles and Perun were inseparable friends. Perun honored the god Veles, for thanks to Veles he gained freedom, was revived and was able to defeat the fierce enemy of his Skipper-beast.

But, as often happens, a woman destroyed a man’s friendship. And all because both Perun and Veles fell in love with the beautiful Diva Dodola. But Diva preferred Perun and rejected Veles.

When Dyi imposed too heavy a tribute on the people, they stopped giving him sacrifices. Then Dyy began to punish the apostates, and people turned to Veles for help.

God Veles responded and defeated Dyi, destroying his heavenly palace, made of eagle wings. Veles threw Dyya from the sky into the kingdom of Viy. And the people rejoiced:

Then Veles asked Svarog to forge him a plow, as well as an iron horse to match him. Svarog fulfilled his request. And Veles began to teach people arable farming, how to sow and reap, how to brew wheat beer.

Then Veles taught people faith and wisdom (knowledge). He taught how to make sacrifices correctly, taught stellar wisdom, literacy, and gave the first calendar. He divided people into classes and gave the first laws.

Then Surya ordered his sons Veles and his brother Khors to look for spouses. Khors and Veles shot arrows into the field - wherever the arrow lands, there they should look for the bride.

Unfortunately, Slavic mythology originated in a time when there was no written language and was never written down. But some things can be restored from ancient evidence, oral folk art, rituals and folk beliefs.

The myth of the creation of the world by Rod

At first there was nothing but chaos, everything was one. Then the ancient god Rod descended to earth in a golden egg and got to work. At first he decided to separate light and darkness, and the sun rolled out of the golden egg, illuminating everything around.
Then the moon appeared, taking its place in the night sky.
Afterwards, the progenitor created an immense water world, from which land later rose - vast lands on which tall trees stretched to the sky, various animals ran, and birds sang their wondrous songs. And he created a rainbow to separate land and sea, Truth and Falsehood.
Then Rod rose up on the golden egg and looked around, he liked the fruits of his labor. God exhaled onto the earth - and the wind rustled in the trees, and from his breath the goddess of love Lada was born, who turned into the bird Sva.
Rod divided the world into three kingdoms: heavenly, earthly and underworld. He created the first for the gods, who should maintain order on earth, the second became the abode of people, and the last - a haven for the dead. And through them grows a gigantic oak tree - the World Tree, which grew from a seed thrown by the creator. Its roots are hidden in the world of the dead, its trunk passes through the earthly kingdom, and its crown supports the sky.
Rod populated the kingdom of heaven with the gods he created. Together with Lada, they created the mighty god Svarog. Having breathed life into him, the creator god gave him four heads, so that he could look to all corners of the world and keep an eye on order.
Svarog became a faithful assistant to the progenitor: he paved the path of the Sun across the firmament and the path of the moon across the night sky. Since then, the sun rises at dawn, and at night the moon floats into the star-lit sky.

How Chernobog wanted to take over the Universe

The evil god Chernobog, the lord of darkness, was born in time immemorial. And Krivda began to plunge his mind into dark thoughts and lead him to evil deeds. He succumbed to temptations and planned to subjugate the whole world to himself, turned into a Black Serpent and crawled out of his lair.
Svarog, who was keeping an eye on the world, sensed something was wrong. He made himself a huge hammer in the forge and swung it down on Alatyr to create helpers for himself. Sparks flew in all directions, from which the gods immediately appeared. The first to be born was the heavenly god Dazhdbog. Then Khors, Simargl and Stribog appeared.
The Serpent crawled up to Alatyr and struck silver sparks with its tail on the stone, which turned into earthly and underground evil spirits. Dazhdbog saw this and sent Simargl, a messenger between heaven and earth, to tell Svarog about everything. He flew away to his father and told him that a great battle was coming between evil and good. Svarog listened to his son and began to forge weapons for his army in the heavenly forge.
And the time for battle came - the forces of light met the forces of evil. That battle lasted for a long time and was not easy. Dark forces made their way into the heavenly palace and almost penetrated Svarog’s forge. Then Svarog forged a plow and launched it at Chernobog as soon as he appeared at the door. He called the children to help, and together they harnessed the Snake to the plow and captured all the evil spirits.
Then the dark god prayed and asked to spare his offspring. Svarog was fair and compassionate, he promised to spare the Navi people only if none of the gods of the entire Universe ruled. And he ordered to dig the great boundary between the two worlds. And that boundary will pass through the entire world of people, on one side there will be the kingdom of Svarog, on the other there will be dark lands. Chernobog agreed, because there was no choice anyway - so the gods came to an agreement.
The gods began to divide their kingdoms with a plow; the world of the light gods became on the right, and Navi on the left. That furrow passed through the middle of the world of people, and that is why there is equal good and bad on earth. The World Tree united three worlds. On the right, in its branches sits Alkonost, the bird of paradise. On the left is the dark bird Sirin.
Svarog and the fertility goddess Lada began to populate the world with animals and birds. They planted trees and flowers.
And after all the work, they began to play in the forest clearing. They started throwing stones over their shoulders. The Mother of Cheese, the Earth, moistened them with dew, which is why they turned into people. Those who fell from Lada became maidens, and the Svarogs became fine fellows. Then Lada didn’t have enough of that, she began to rub the branches one against the other. Divine sparks appeared, from which beautiful maidens and lads appeared. Rod was pleased because the world that he had once created was blooming again. The gods ordered people to live according to the covenants carved on the Alatyr stone. And Mokosh began to spin the threads of fate, assigning a deadline to everyone.

The myth of the magic lily of the valley

Perun decided to take the rain goddess Dodola as his wife. Many gods were invited to the wedding, and Veles was not forgotten. The Thunderer hoped to reconcile with his old enemy. The wedding took place in the heavenly kingdom, and a feast began in the Garden of Eden.
The gods rejoiced at the holiday and drank hops for health. Only Veles sat gloomier than a cloud - he liked the bride, and did not take his eyes off her throughout the feast. His heart was corroded by envy of Perun for taking such a beauty as his wife.
Veles then descended to earth from Iriy and wandered for a long time through the dense forests. One day Dodola went for a walk on earth through the forests and meadows. Veles noticed her, and feelings flared up, and he almost lost his mind from them. He turned into a lily of the valley at her very feet. Dodola picked a flower and smelled it. And then she gave birth to a son, Yarila.
Her husband found out about this and immediately separated with righteous anger. He wanted to destroy the vile Veles, who was so grateful for his kindness. And in battle then those two gods came together. That battle lasted three days and three nights, until the Thunderer defeated Veles with difficulty. Perun brought him to Alatyr-stone so that the gods would judge him. And the gods then banished Veles from Iriy to the underworld forever.

How Veles stole the heavenly cows

This happened when Veles was already living in the underworld. Yaga persuaded him to steal the heavenly cows from the gods. God resisted for a long time, but then he remembered that when he lived in Iria, he took better care of the cows than anyone else. And now no one will look after them better than him. Then Yaga raised a whirlwind from the earth to the very sky, which carried all the cows into the underworld. There Veles hid them in a large cave and began to look after them.
When the forest animals found out about this, they decided that now they could do anything. The wolves dispersed the most - they lost all fear and began to drive away the livestock. And people began to steal each other's animals. But this is not all the troubles that have begun on earth. All the pastures and all the crops dried up, all because the clouds disappeared along with the cows of heaven.
The people of the gods began to pray that Veles would return the cows, so that the drought would end, and everything would be as before. Perun and Dazhbog heard the prayers and decided to help. They descended to earth, to the gates of the underworld. And there the army of Veles is already waiting for them. And he himself hid in the roots of the World Tree in order to quietly attack the gods.
But Perun was the first to notice him and threw his lightning at the root. Lightning struck the Tree strongly, it staggered, and the earth trembled. Dazhbog stopped the thunderer, fearing that the Tree would fall, and with it the whole world.
Perun challenged Veles to a fair fight, and God could not refuse because of pride. He turned into a fire-breathing Serpent, and they fought in battle. And all its inhabitants came out from the underworld to watch that battle, opening the stone doors.
Dazhbog slipped into the underground kingdom and began to look for the heavenly herd. The two gods fought for a long time, and with difficulty Perun defeated the Snake. He then took on his true form and started to run. The Thunderer pursued Veles and shot lightning arrows after him. And Perun heard the voice of Dazhbog asking him to throw lightning at the mountain to rescue the heavenly flock. Perun split the mountain with a shot, and the cows of heaven returned to Iriy.

How Veles locked underground waters

For many years, people revered various gods with prayers and sacrifices, but they forgot about Veles, the ruler of the underworld. His idol fell into disrepair, and the sacred fire, where gifts were once brought, almost went out.
Veles was then offended that people forgot about him, and he closed all the water sources with locks. Then a drought began on the earth, the livestock began to get sick because all the pastures dried up. And people began to pray to the gods for help. One family even left their relatives at home and went into the forest to Perun’s idol to ask the rain to moisten the dry soil.
The raven heard people's prayers and soared up into Iriy itself, the abode of the heavenly gods. He found Perun and told about the misfortune that had happened to people. God listened to the raven and became angry with Veles. And he decided to teach him a lesson because he had locked the underground waters with strong locks. He took his bow and lightning arrows, saddled a snow-white horse and went to look for the Serpent.
Veles then inspected the land to which he had sent a drought, and was pleased that he had punished the people. But he saw Perun flying in the sky, got scared and wanted to hide underground. But the Thunderer prevented him by shooting lightning from his bow. Then the Snake decided to crawl into the hollow of the old oak tree. But the good god managed to set the tree on fire, shooting his arrow from the high sky. Veles then decided to hide under the boulder, but it shattered into small pebbles when Perun hit him with a bow.
The Serpent realized that he could not hide from Perunov’s anger, and then began to beg for mercy. He promised to show all the locks to which he had locked the underground springs. Then the Thunderer had mercy and agreed. The Lord of the Underworld pointed out all the secluded places in which he had locked up the water. But I lost my keys while I was hiding from Perunov’s lightning. Perun smashed all the castles with his club, and water returned to the springs and rivers, and the wells and lakes were filled again.
And so the drought ended, and the pastures sprouted with green grass. And people no longer forgot to honor Veles along with other gods.