Hymn to the Aśvins

Rigveda V.74 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 5 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. Where are you two today, O Aśvin gods, whose wealth is for mankind, come from heaven? Hear this, you of mighty wealth: Atri calls you here to serve you.

2. Where, where indeed are those famed Nāsatya gods heard of in heaven? Among what people do you two arrive? Who by the rivers is your companion?

3. To whom do you travel, to whom do you go, for whom do you yoke your chariot? In whose sacred words do you delight? We long for you two, that you come to us.

4. Even the man swimming in the flood, one townsman for another, you two quicken and save — when you seized him back from captivity, as a lion takes back its prey from the place of treachery.

5. From aged, worn-out Cyavāna you stripped away his old age like a garment. When you made him young again, you fulfilled the desire of his bride.

6. For here is a praiser for you two; we stand before you for your beauty to be seen. Now hear me — come with your help, you two rich in strength.

7. Who among the many mortals has won you today? What inspired poet, by the carrying-power of his hymn? Who by sacrifices, you two rich in strength?

8. May your chariot, best of chariots, come to us, O Aśvins. Let our hymn, favoring us greatly, carry far among mortals.

9. Good indeed — let our praise, again and again, belong to you two who love sweetness. Turn toward us, you wise ones, and fly here on your steeds like a falcon.

10. O Aśvins, whenever you hear this call of ours — may good enjoyments flow rightly to you, may our offerings mix well for you.

Translator's note: Verse 4 alludes to an Aśvin rescue-legend (a man saved from drowning or captivity) whose full narrative is not recoverable from the verse alone; "pauram... paurāya" (literally "townsman... for the townsman") is rendered conservatively. Verse 5 refers to the well-known story of the sage Cyavāna, made young again by the Aśvins at his wife's wish.

Colophon

Rigveda V.74 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 V.74

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.

kūṣṭho devāv aśvinādyā divo manāvasū |
tac chravatho vṛṣaṇvasū atrir vām ā vivāsati || 1 ||

kuha tyā kuha nu śrutā divi devā nāsatyā |
kasminn ā yatatho jane ko vāṁ nadīnāṁ sacā || 2 ||

kaṁ yāthaḥ kaṁ ha gacchathaḥ kam acchā yuñjāthe ratham |
kasya brahmāṇi raṇyatho vayaṁ vām uśmasīṣṭaye || 3 ||

pauraṁ cid dhy udaprutam paura paurāya jinvathaḥ |
yad īṁ gṛbhītatātaye siṁham iva druhas pade || 4 ||

pra cyavānāj jujuruṣo vavrim atkaṁ na muñcathaḥ |
yuvā yadī kṛthaḥ punar ā kāmam ṛṇve vadhvaḥ || 5 ||

asti hi vām iha stotā smasi vāṁ saṁdṛśi śriye |
nū śrutam ma ā gatam avobhir vājinīvasū || 6 ||

ko vām adya purūṇām ā vavne martyānām |
ko vipro vipravāhasā ko yajñair vājinīvasū || 7 ||

ā vāṁ ratho rathānāṁ yeṣṭho yātv aśvinā |
purū cid asmayus tira āṅgūṣo martyeṣv ā || 8 ||

śam ū ṣu vām madhūyuvāsmākam astu carkṛtiḥ |
arvācīnā vicetasā vibhiḥ śyeneva dīyatam || 9 ||

aśvinā yad dha karhi cic chuśrūyātam imaṁ havam |
vasvīr ū ṣu vām bhujaḥ pṛñcanti su vām pṛcaḥ || 10 ||

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).