Hymn to the Aśvins
Rigveda I.184 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to the Aśvins, the twin divine horsemen, healers of the gods and bringers of dawn. It is one of the 1,028 hymns of the Rigveda organized within Maṇḍala 1, the first of ten books. The ṛṣi (seer) to whom this hymn is attributed and its precise liturgical context are recorded in the traditional Śākalya Anukramaṇī.
The Rigveda is the oldest of the four Vedas and one of the oldest surviving religious texts in the world, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Indus-Sarasvatī region. Its hymns were preserved through oral transmission across millennia before being committed to writing. This is a Good Works Translation produced for the Good Works Library from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
1. We would call you two, today and tomorrow, at the breaking of dawn, the priest with his hymns — O Nāsatyas, wherever you two may be — you sons of heaven, for the sake of the pious, bountiful man.
2. Rejoice well in us, O mighty bulls; strike down the Paṇis, exulting in the flood. Hear me with welcoming words of my thoughts, O heroes — seekers and perceivers, with your ears.
3. For glory, O Pūṣan, like arrow-makers, O gods, O Nāsatyas — the bridal procession of Sūryā. Your lofty ones, born in the waters, roll on for you two, like the many worn ages of Varuṇa.
4. Let that honeyed gift of you two be ours; speed on the praise-hymn of this thoughtful poet — since, desiring renown, O bountiful ones, the peoples rejoice through you two for the sake of good strength.
5. This hymn of praise has been made for you two, O Aśvins, well-fashioned by our thoughts, O bounteous ones. Go on your circuit — for offspring and for oneself — rejoicing, O Nāsatyas, at Agastya's place.
6. We have crossed to the far shore of this darkness; in answer, a hymn has been offered to you two, O Aśvins. Come here now by the paths the gods travel; may we find nourishment, strength, and swift-giving bounty.
Translator's note: verse 3 is the most difficult in the hymn — the address to Pūṣan, the "arrow-makers" simile, and the identity of the "lofty ones... born in the waters" are all uncertain in the Sanskrit and rendered conservatively here rather than resolved by guesswork. "kakuhā" (rendered "lofty ones") most likely refers to the Aśvins' horses or chariot, but the text does not say so explicitly.
Colophon
Rigveda I.184 is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation rendered verse by verse from the Sanskrit text printed below. Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation.
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Source Text: ṛgveda I.184
tā vām adya tāv aparaṁ huvemocchantyām uṣasi vahnir ukthaiḥ |
nāsatyā kuha cit santāv aryo divo napātā sudāstarāya || 1 ||
asme ū ṣu vṛṣaṇā mādayethām ut paṇīm̐r hatam ūrmyā madantā |
śrutam me acchoktibhir matīnām eṣṭā narā nicetārā ca karṇaiḥ || 2 ||
śriye pūṣann iṣukṛteva devā nāsatyā vahatuṁ sūryāyāḥ |
vacyante vāṁ kakuhā apsu jātā yugā jūrṇeva varuṇasya bhūreḥ || 3 ||
asme sā vām mādhvī rātir astu stomaṁ hinotam mānyasya kāroḥ |
anu yad vāṁ śravasyā sudānū suvīryāya carṣaṇayo madanti || 4 ||
eṣa vāṁ stomo aśvināv akāri mānebhir maghavānā suvṛkti |
yātaṁ vartis tanayāya tmane cāgastye nāsatyā madantā || 5 ||
atāriṣma tamasas pāram asya prati vāṁ stomo aśvināv adhāyi |
eha yātam pathibhir devayānair vidyāmeṣaṁ vṛjanaṁ jīradānum || 6 ||
Source Colophon
Sanskrit text of the Rigveda, Śākala recension. The standard scholarly edition is the Bombay Oriental (Vishva Bandhu, 5 vols., 1963–66). IAST transliteration available from GRETIL (Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages) and Vedaweb (University of Cologne). Both sources are open access. IAST transliteration from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).