Short History of Russia from Perun to Vladimir the Red Sun

Slavic Gods - Dazhdbog

"Tell, Gamayun, prophetic bird, tell about the birth of Dazhdbog the Kind, the son of Mighty Perun and beautiful mermaid Ros.

In the ancient Russian mythology Dazhdbog appears as a son of the Almighty Perun and a mermaid named Ros.

Perun is a son of Svarog (Vedic Isvara) who is a top God in Russian pagan beliefs, a kind of an analogue of Cronos of the Greeks, although he did not actually create the World, he only created the living Universe but...

Basically, Perun is a male God, God of warriors, those who protect the Land.

These are just beautiful girls that dance on celebrations, before harvesting, etc. Ros is also a name of the river which is still alive and doing well.

One branch of Slavs that lived near Ros called themselves rosichi or later rusichi that finally gave a name to the state of Rus, its Peter the Great's modification Rossiya (Russia) and to all Russkie (Russians).

In this context Kol does not mean a stick (there is such a meaning of this word in Russian language) but a solar turn-around, equinox.

He happened to be really mighty (anyway, he was a son of Perun) but he never saw his father.

"Do not be angry, mighty Perun, but walk to the clean field and see your son, Dazhdbog, but be graceful as Dazhdbog is still young".

After this fight they both got together and Dazhdbog asked his mother to allow him to go with his father to the shining Iriy (the World where the Gods live).

I thought these were flies stinging me but you look like a warrior".

So, she grabbed him, put into a crystal casket and locked this casket with a silver key.

Then the girl got her horse and went away.

"Oh, you brave and mighty Zlatogorka, daughter of Vij, you excuse me, please, my dear, but I can't carry two great warriors anymore!"

They got together and went to mountains where they met Svarog and mother Lada who blessed them to become husband and wife.

Once Dazhdbog and Zlatogorka were riding horses in deep mountains of Armenia and found a strange tomb.

"You, my husband, go to my father Vij, give him my last bow and ask him to forgive me as I must stay here in this tomb forever".

As Vij cried out that Dazhdbog brings light to his world, so he gave his daughter the forgiveness.

The name is still in use in Russia and basically means love: when a married couple lives in love people say that they live ladno (it is an adverb).

Walking along he discovered a nice palace, music was playing there as golden strings.

"Tell, Gamayun, prophetic bird, as Kashchej stole Marena from Dazhdbog, and as Dazhdbog was looking for her, and as Zhiva saved Dazhdbog..."

The news about Dazhdbog's bride was so great that Kashchej himself got jealous and decided to abduct Marena.

He called for a great amount of evil spirits that flooded the Land.

Unfortunately, only Dazhdbog alone was there, no other Gods, so he himself fought all these spirits.

Kashchej entered Dazhdbog's home and started to persuade Marena to come with him because Dazhdbog, as he told her, was only a natural son of Perun, so was only a half-god.

This trick worked, Marena turned into a bird and disappeared together with Kashchej.

When Dazhdbog woke up he, obviously, did not find his wife, so he asked his father to go with him and look for her but Mighty Perun said that this is his son's duty, so Dazhdbog left alone.

First of all Kashchej is a representative of the Underground World, son of Vij.

However, another thing seems to be of the great importance here -- a general subject of the ancient song.

All Russian fairy tales follow this line: Kashchej abducts a beautiful wife, so a husband gets sad and goes to look for the Kashchej's death and for his wife.

Further development of this line leads a reader to cosmological beliefs of pagan Russians, about creation of the World by Rod.

A little picture at the end of this essay represents just what I said: a search for the death of Kashchej.

...So, Dazhdbog was heading towards Kashchej and Marena and shortly he recognized them.

"What a great power the Hop has!", said Marena and asked Kashchej to kill her husband but the former refused to do this because Dazhdbog once saved his life and Kashchej promised to forgive him three times.

At that time Zhiva (means Life in many Slavic languages), a daughter of Svarog asked her father to go for a walk outside the Gardens.

He agreed, and the Dove took Dazhdbog away from the mountains to Irij and healed.

Zhiva told Dazhdbog that there is no way to kill Kashchej because he is Immortal God and Marena's friend.

She told Dazhdbog that the death he is looking for is hidden in the Egg, the Egg is in the Duck, the Duck is in the Rabbit, the Rabbit is in the Chest, the Chest is under the Oak on the Island.

When ancient tales and stories describe the creation on the World by Rod this Egg has a very big meaning as a source of the Fire that created everything, and Rarog is a small part of this Fire.

To be honest, the essay seems to me a bit dry since, I believe, I failed to give you a real taste of the events.

However, this can really be justified: it is incredibly hard to translate tales into another language, especially if the languages are so different, English and Russian.

Moreover, this ancient style of the manuscripts seems to be a little bit weird even for the modern Russian language, so I ask you to forgive me a kind of sharp translations.

Sacred Sign of Perun

Slavic Gods Glossary - Old Slavic Gods Reference

Short History of Russia from Perun to Vladimir the Red Sun
From its darkest roots to the Christian takeover

ADVENTURE TRAVEL to Russia. Flights to Kazan, Samara, Novgorod

Is Ruegen Island same as Buyan Island? Slavic Gods Temple

Prince Vladimir the Red Sun Accepts Jesus as his Saviour

Slavic Gods - Dazhdbog

Slavic Gods - Slavic Domovoi Spirit of Home

The Founding of the City of Kiev

Religion of Russia Before Christianity. Major Concepts of Slavic Religion

Prince Igor Goes to War

Prince Oleg Attacks the Greeks

Prince Yaroslav Wrestles a Bear and Wins Respect of Finn Tribesmen

Viking Rurik Invades Russia. Norman Rule in Russia

Who Were Those Vikings, Anyway?