The ajdaha is the monstrous dragon of Tat and wider Iranian folk-tale, a vast serpent continuing the ancient Azhi Dahaka. It coils upon a spring or river and withholds the water from a village, releasing it only in return for a maiden delivered up in yearly tribute. The dragon is at last confronted and slain by a hero, who frees both the waters and the appointed victim. Distinct from the serpent-king Shahmar, the ajdaha is wholly hostile, a devourer without kingship over its kind.