What the epic says
Youngest son of the ancestors Yanbirde and Yanbike. Sets out in search of the Living Water (Yanshishma) to defeat Death. Defeats the divs, anoints the earth with Living Water and sacrifices himself by drinking the poisoned lakes. His body becomes the Ural Mountains.
Symbolism of the image
Immortality through service. Ural does not seek personal immortality—he gives the Living Water to the earth. His body becomes a mountain, his name becomes the name of the Ural Mountains. A hero-creator, not a hero-conqueror.
Disputed questions
- Связь имени «Урал» с этимологией названия Уральских гор. Существуют конкурирующие гипотезы (тюрк. «пояс», «возвышенность» и др.).