Hymn to the Aśvins
Rigveda III.58 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 3 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 is a Good Works Translation produced for the Good Works Library from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
1. The milch-cow, yielding the desire of the ancient one — within her, the son of Dakṣiṇā moves. She brings [her offering] to the shining path of the bright-going Dawn; the hymn of praise has roused the Aśvins.
2. The well-yoked ones carry [the chariot] toward you two; through the order of truth they rise up, like fathers' insights. You two are called by us — away with the Paṇi's scheming! We have won your favor; come down to us.
3. With your well-yoked horses, with your smooth-rolling chariot, O wondrous pair, hear this song of the pressing-stone. Why indeed — the ancient inspired poets have called you the swiftest to come against distress, O Aśvins.
4. Give heed, come, by whatever paths — all peoples call upon the Aśvins. These milk-mingled sweet draughts are indeed for you two; like friends, the bright cows have given them forth at the outset.
5. Across many regions indeed, O Aśvins, your praise resounds among the peoples, O bounteous ones. Come here by the paths the gods travel, O wondrous pair — here are your stores of sweetness.
6. Ancient is your dwelling, gracious your friendship; your wealth, O men, lies by the Jahnāvī. Renewing our auspicious friendship, may we rejoice together now with the sweet drink, being of one mind.
7. O Aśvins, skillful ones, with Vāyu and his yoked team, in accord, O youthful pair — O Nāsatyas, relishing the soma kept through the day, drink it, unfailing bounteous givers.
8. O Aśvins, many offerings have gone out to you, unfailing, striving through songs. Your chariot, born of order, driven by the pressing-stone, travels around heaven and earth in a single day.
9. O Aśvins, the sweetest soma, meant for you two — drink it; come to the house. Your chariot indeed, assuming many forms, comes most swiftly to the appointed place of the one who has pressed the soma.
Translator's note: verse 1 is a notoriously compressed riddle-verse; "the son of Dakṣiṇā" and "the shining path of Dawn" are rendered conservatively, following the Sanskrit word order, without resolving the imagery further. In verse 6, "Jahnāvī" is left as a proper name (a river, later identified with the Gaṅgā) rather than interpreted.
Colophon
Rigveda III.58 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 III.58
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.
dhenuḥ pratnasya kāmyaṁ duhānāntaḥ putraś carati dakṣiṇāyāḥ |
ā dyotaniṁ vahati śubhrayāmoṣasaḥ stomo aśvināv ajīgaḥ || 1 ||
suyug vahanti prati vām ṛtenordhvā bhavanti pitareva medhāḥ |
jarethām asmad vi paṇer manīṣāṁ yuvor avaś cakṛmā yātam arvāk || 2 ||
suyugbhir aśvaiḥ suvṛtā rathena dasrāv imaṁ śṛṇutaṁ ślokam adreḥ |
kim aṅga vām praty avartiṁ gamiṣṭhāhur viprāso aśvinā purājāḥ || 3 ||
ā manyethām ā gataṁ kac cid evair viśve janāso aśvinā havante |
imā hi vāṁ goṛjīkā madhūni pra mitrāso na dadur usro agre || 4 ||
tiraḥ purū cid aśvinā rajāṁsy āṅgūṣo vām maghavānā janeṣu |
eha yātam pathibhir devayānair dasrāv ime vāṁ nidhayo madhūnām || 5 ||
purāṇam okaḥ sakhyaṁ śivaṁ vāṁ yuvor narā draviṇaṁ jahnāvyām |
punaḥ kṛṇvānāḥ sakhyā śivāni madhvā madema saha nū samānāḥ || 6 ||
aśvinā vāyunā yuvaṁ sudakṣā niyudbhiṣ ca sajoṣasā yuvānā |
nāsatyā tiroahnyaṁ juṣāṇā somam pibatam asridhā sudānū || 7 ||
aśvinā pari vām iṣaḥ purūcīr īyur gīrbhir yatamānā amṛdhrāḥ |
ratho ha vām ṛtajā adrijūtaḥ pari dyāvāpṛthivī yāti sadyaḥ || 8 ||
aśvinā madhuṣuttamo yuvākuḥ somas tam pātam ā gataṁ duroṇe |
ratho ha vām bhūri varpaḥ karikrat sutāvato niṣkṛtam āgamiṣṭhaḥ || 9 ||
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).