Kharsag
Epic No 1: The Arrival of the Anannage Tablet No. 14005
- A
At Kharsag,
where Heaven and Earth met, the Heavenly Assembly, the Great
Sons of Anu, descended - the many Wise Ones.
The Lord of the Granary had not yet arrived there, the grass
had not yet become green.
The Lord
of the Plough had not yet prepared the land and (its) watering;
for the Lord of the Plough, (that) implement had not (yet) turned
over the hard earth.
The cattle-shed had not (yet) been given running-water, had
not been watered from the overflow.
The ass
had not (yet) been watered; the seed had not been watered.
Then, the
well and the irrigation channels had not been dug; then, had
not been dug for the ass and the cattle.
Because of the sunny Enclosure, and the Lord of the Granary,
eventually] the harvest would be heavy.
The Anannage, the Great Lords, had not yet arrived.
The shesh-grain
of thirty days did not exist; the shesh-grain of fifty days
did not exist, the small grain, the mountain grain, and
the animal fodder did not exist.
The Lord
of the Plough had not sown the grain; then, the Enclosure had
not been constructed.
Together
with the Great Lords, the Great Lady had not arrived.
The faithful
Lord Ugmash had not (yet) taken observations of the movements
of the Sun.
Mankind
learned from the Great Shining Ones;they set things in order.
Man had
not yet learned how to eat or how to sleep; had not learned
how to make clothes, or permanent dwellings.
People crawled
into their dwellings on all fours;they ate grass with their
mouths like sheep; they drank storm-water from the streams.
Later) after
the Lords had planted greenery, its fruit covered the extensive
Enclosure; the Lord of the Granary made it beautiful.
The Lords
rejoiced in the enclosed place - in its food enclosures - in
its shady orchards. There the Lord of the Granary had planted
abundant vegetation, the Anannage - in their bright dwellings
in the spacious Enclosure - ate abundantly, but were not content.
Of the excellent
milk from the spacious sheepfold,
the Anannage - in their bright dwellings in the spacious Enclosure
- drank abundantly, but were not content.
Because of the surplus food from the spacious Enclosure, they
made a favourable decision that Mankind (the tribes-people)
should share these benefits..
At that
time, the Lord Enki was speaking to the Lord Enlil.
Father Enlil
had appointed the Lord of the Granary [Enki] to erect that splendid,
enclosed dwelling the splendid dwelling - the bright dwelling
- the place with lofty [running] water
The Lord
Enki and the Lord Enlil conversed animatedly...
The Lord of the Granary, from the splendid watercourse
had brought water to the cattle-shed ... ...'
The cattle-shed
was surrounded by a wall... .he [also] covered the stocks of
food in a lofty building.
The Lord
of the Granary irrigated the fields; he made their bright, enclosed
places and cultivated the fields.
He made
firm the wall of the cattle-shed; he appointed a herdsman for
his abundant cattle.
The Lord
of the Granary was made responsible for the building.
Rich pasture-land was established for the abundant, fat cattle;
its fields were full of lively horns; the vigorous young animals
raced about the heights
The Lord
of the Granary, and the Cattle-Shed, multiplied the offspring.
He [Enlil]
commanded a Reservoir to be constructed; it was sited on the
Heights; in the shining Land, lofty water was established it
was sited on the Heights. The Lord commanded - the Arbiter planned
it.
In this
land - in this created place - food was greatly increased for
the people.
The Arbiter
of the Land established shade in it.
Where the
perched House stood, the ground was made shady; and, then, the
boundary was fenced-in.
Because
the Lord had commanded these things, they were established,
there, in the Highlands.
At the place
of the Waterfall, the Companions and their wives were given
a feast. In a shady field, many helped with the serving!
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