A praise poem of Shulgi (Shulgi P): translation

SEGMENT A

^1-61 line fragmentary
...... shining ....... He (probably Lugalbanda) spoke to her (probably Ninsun) tenderly ......: "He will accomplish precisely the fate determined for him. Your father holy An will make his branches spread as if he were a sappy cedar planted among hacur trees."

^7-10Then my lady stepped up (?) to the word of An, Ninsun made a fateful decision with her spouse, holy Lugalbanda; she attended to his supplication. She went straight to holy An in the Ubcu-unkena:

^11-14"My father, An, you are the king among the gods! I have looked through the land in all its extent and among its black-headed people who are as numerous as ewes, and I have elevated Culgi for me high above their head. May he be their trustworthy shepherd!

^15-21"He is my mes tree with spreading branches; he sprang up from the soil for me, ...... brings abundant yield for me every year. He is my spikenard herb, growing for me with sturdy stems. He makes my ...... radiant in the brickwork of Sumer.
1 line unclear
May he stand daily in ......!
1 line fragmentary "
unknown number of lines missing

SEGMENT B

^1-2 ...... of Urim ....... ...... grant him (?) kingship!
unknown number of lines missing

SEGMENT C

^1-10 (An is speaking:) "Its roots sank deep into the earth. I will stand by you in that holy matter. May he who is worthy of being praised with good words, Culgi, the king of a propitious reign, perform the rites established for the kingship perfectly for you, the goddess, at the great and lofty wall-tower of Urim! May he execute properly for you the statutes of the gods! May he always offer you food at the time of the new moon and at the new year! May you yourself bring me his prayers daily! My tree is indeed abundance, sprouting from the earth like herbs and plants!"

^11-17Then, rejoicing over the words of An, my lady Ninsun took Culgi the king of Urim by his right hand, led him joyfully into her Egal-mah and seated him upon the exalted dais erected by An. She treated him tenderly with her holy bosom, saying:

^17-21"Shepherd Culgi, I am your great sword (?). My holy heart, a rising flood, rejoices over you. My father, An ...... , who is your master, praises you, who are surpassing in kingship (?) for (?) the ...... of your kingship.

^22-27"Culgi, you are a pure calf, born to me. You are a good seed of Lugal-banda. I raised you upon my own holy lap. I have decided your fate with my holy bosom. You are a good fortune which fell to my share. I requested you from holy An in the .......

^28-34"I, the lady, holy Ninsun, the royal mother, the good woman with beautiful hair befitting a lady, Culgi, I am your faithful guardian (?). May you be dressed in my ...... ma garment! Dance ...... on my holy knees! May you, the shepherd, born for justice, trust in my holy words!

^35-42"Your holy name is worthy of being praised; may it please the flesh of the great gods like fine oil! An has given you a sceptre for rendering judgments; may your head be raised high! Your father who begot you, holy Lugalbanda, has named you as the 'Valiant one whom An made known among the gods'. He has made you acquire (?) a ....... He has adorned you with a royal crown; may he purify (?) your breath of life with an enduring sceptre!

^43-48"May Gectin-ana, the king's sister, the mellifluous mouth of the gods, never stop rejoicing over you joy in your palace, erected for you as a source of happiness! May she always step forward to me with friendy entreaties on your behalf! May she never cease praying for you!

^49-55"I, the lady ...... holy temple of residence ....... My mother, Urac, the lady of the gods and my father, An, the king of the gods ...... the woman, the good cow in (?) the great sheepfold. They (?) give (?) me (?) enduring kingship. They (?) have placed (?) the people in their entirety in my hands.

^56-66"At the place where the fates are decided, the Anuna, the great gods, stood by me. They made Culgi's shepherdship everlasting for me and made Culgi, the righteous one of his god, rise over the land like Utu for me. They set up a throne of firm reign for him. The shepherd will decree just judgements and will make just decisions upon it (?). They granted (?) Culgi a royal crown. ...... great .......
1 line fragmentary

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Revision history

25.v.1998-30.v.1998 : GZ : adapting translation
24.vii.1998 : JAB : proofreading
16.x.1999 : GZ : SGML tagging
11.ii.2000 : ER : proofreading SGML
11.ii.2000 : ER : converting to HTML 4.0
7.ix.2001 : ER : header and footer reformatted; substantive content of file not changed