Hymn to the Aśvins
Rigveda II.39 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 2 of the Rigveda, one of the 1,028 hymns organized within the ten books of the oldest Veda. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in Vedic Sanskrit and preserved through oral transmission across millennia.
This hymn to the Aśvins, the twin horsemen-gods, is built almost entirely from strings of similes — the Aśvins are likened in quick succession to pressing-stones, vultures, priests, messengers, horns, hooves, birds, a boat, a yoke, wheel parts, dogs, wind, a river, eyes, hands, feet, lips, breasts, nostrils, and ears — before the hymn closes with the poets of the Gṛtsamada family asking the Twins to accept their praise-song.
1. Like two pressing-stones you two wear yourselves down for that very purpose; like two vultures toward a tree that holds treasure. Like two brahmin priests at the sacred gathering, reciting the hymn; like two messengers bearing oblations, kinsmen, in many places.
2. Early travelers, like two charioteers, like twin heroes, you two pursue what is best. Like two women adorning their bodies; like husband and wife, skilled in the craft of ritual, among the people.
3. Like two horns, come first to us, this way; like two hooves, quivering with their own strength. Like two chakravāka birds at the break of dawn; come this way like two mighty charioteers.
4. Like a boat, carry us across; like a yoke, like a wheel-hub for us, like a felly, like a wheel-rim. Like two dogs, unharming, guardians of our bodies; like a [binding cord], protect us from falling apart.
5. Like winds, unaging; like a river's current — come this way like two eyes, with sight. Like two hands, most helpful to the body; like two feet, lead us toward what is good.
6. Like two lips speaking sweetness at the mouth; like two breasts, flow for our living. Like nostrils, be protectors of our bodies; be like two ears, keen of hearing, for us.
7. Like two hands, grant us strength; like the earth, gather the realms together for us. These songs, O Aśvins, reaching toward you — sharpen them like an axe on a whetstone.
8. These are your strengthening hymns, O Aśvins; the Gṛtsamadas have fashioned this sacred formula, this praise. Delighting in them, come near, O heroes. May we speak greatly in the assembly, blessed with strong sons.
Translator's note: verse 4's "khṛgaleva" is an obscure hapax; rendered conservatively here as "like a binding cord," but the word's precise referent (a strap, tether, or fastening of some kind) is uncertain.
Colophon
Rigveda II.39 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 II.39
Sanskrit source text from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
grāvāṇeva tad id arthaṁ jarethe gṛdhreva vṛkṣaṁ nidhimantam accha |
brahmāṇeva vidatha ukthaśāsā dūteva havyā janyā purutrā || 1 ||
prātaryāvāṇā rathyeva vīrājeva yamā varam ā sacethe |
mene iva tanvā3 śumbhamāne dampatīva kratuvidā janeṣu || 2 ||
śṛṅgeva naḥ prathamā gantam arvāk chaphāv iva jarbhurāṇā tarobhiḥ |
cakravākeva prati vastor usrārvāñcā yātaṁ rathyeva śakrā || 3 ||
nāveva naḥ pārayataṁ yugeva nabhyeva na upadhīva pradhīva |
śvāneva no ariṣaṇyā tanūnāṁ khṛgaleva visrasaḥ pātam asmān || 4 ||
vātevājuryā nadyeva rītir akṣī iva cakṣuṣā yātam arvāk |
hastāv iva tanve3 śambhaviṣṭhā pādeva no nayataṁ vasyo accha || 5 ||
oṣṭhāv iva madhv āsne vadantā stanāv iva pipyataṁ jīvase naḥ |
nāseva nas tanvo rakṣitārā karṇāv iva suśrutā bhūtam asme || 6 ||
hasteva śaktim abhi saṁdadī naḥ kṣāmeva naḥ sam ajataṁ rajāṁsi |
imā giro aśvinā yuṣmayantīḥ kṣṇotreṇeva svadhitiṁ saṁ śiśītam || 7 ||
etāni vām aśvinā vardhanāni brahma stomaṁ gṛtsamadāso akran |
tāni narā jujuṣāṇopa yātam bṛhad vadema vidathe suvīrāḥ || 8 ||
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).