Hymn to the Aśvins
Rigveda VIII.8 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 8 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. Come to us, you two Aśvins, with all your help. O wondrous ones with golden paths, drink the soma-sweet nectar.
2. Come now, O Aśvins, in your chariot skinned with sunlight — protectors adorned in gold, deep-minded seers.
3. Come from over Nahuṣa's realm, from the midair, drawn by our finely woven praises. Drink, O Aśvins, the sweet soma pressed at the Kanvas' rite.
4. Come to us from heaven, from over the midair, you two who love our rite — the son of Kanva has pressed the soma-sweet for you here.
5. Come to us, having heard our call, O Aśvins, to drink the soma. Hail, increasers of our praise! Come forth, O seer-lords, through our devotions.
6. As of old the seers called on you two, O lords, for help — come, O Aśvins, come to this fine hymn of mine.
7. Come to us, even from the shining vault of heaven, O finders of the sun — attentive to Vatsa through our prayers, hearers of the call through our praise-songs.
8. Why should others sit apart from us with their hymns, O Aśvins? The son of Kanva, the seer Vatsa, has exalted you two with his songs.
9. The inspired poet has called you here for help with his hymns, O Aśvins. Flawless ones, mightiest smiters of foes — be a source of joy to us.
10. When the maiden mounted your chariot, O you rich in strength, you two Aśvins went forth to meet all our devotions.
11. Come from there, O Aśvins, with your thousand-formed chariot. Vatsa the poet-seer has spoken a honeyed word to you.
12. Much-delighting ones, rich in abundance, granters of wealth — may you two Aśvins, the chariot-bearers, favor this hymn of mine.
13. Bestow on us, O Aśvins, all your bounties freely. Deal with us as with those who worship in season; do not give us over to scorn.
14. Whether you are far away, O Nāsatyas, or whether you are up in the sky — from there come, O Aśvins, with your thousand-formed chariot.
15. To the seer Vatsa, who has exalted you two Nāsatyas with his songs — to him grant nourishment of a thousand forms, streaming with ghee.
16. Grant to him vigor streaming with ghee, you two Aśvins — to him who has praised you for your favor, seeking wealth, O lords of bounty.
17. Come to us, foe-destroying ones, to this hymn, O bountiful lords. Make us glorious; grant us these gifts for our success.
18. The Priyamedhas have called you with all your helps, O Aśvins, you who rule the sacred rites, at the calls that summon your coming.
19. Come to us, O Aśvins, you two who bring joy and happiness — to Vatsa, who has exalted you admiringly with prayers and songs.
20. With the help by which you aided Kanva Medhātithi, by which you aided Vaśa of the ten cattle-folds, by which you aided Gośarya — with that same help, aid us, O lords.
21. With the help, O lords, by which you aided Trasadasyu in the decisive contest for wealth — with that same help aid us, O Aśvins, for the winning of strength.
22. May our finely woven hymns and songs exalt you, O Aśvins — mightiest smiters of foes in many lands — be to us, much-desired ones.
23. Three are the steps of the Aśvins — some manifest, some hidden far beyond. The two seers come, by the flights of truth, down here, close to the living.
Translator's note: verse 4's "adhapriyā" is a rare form (likely a compressed or variant form of "fond of the rite") rendered conservatively as "you who love our rite." Verse 23 is notably compressed and enigmatic in the Sanskrit itself — the "three steps" of the Aśvins and the sense of "guhā paraḥ" ("hidden beyond") are debated among readers of the Veda; the rendering here stays close to the words rather than resolving the ambiguity. Several proper names (Vaśa, Gośarya, Medhātithi, Trasadasyu) are figures named elsewhere in the Rigveda as recipients of the Aśvins' past help; they are kept as names rather than interpreted.
Colophon
Rigveda VIII.8 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 VIII.8
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.
ā no viśvābhir ūtibhir aśvinā gacchataṁ yuvam |
dasrā hiraṇyavartanī pibataṁ somyam madhu || 1 ||
ā nūnaṁ yātam aśvinā rathena sūryatvacā |
bhujī hiraṇyapeśasā kavī gambhīracetasā || 2 ||
ā yātaṁ nahuṣas pary āntarikṣāt suvṛktibhiḥ |
pibātho aśvinā madhu kaṇvānāṁ savane sutam || 3 ||
ā no yātaṁ divas pary āntarikṣād adhapriyā |
putraḥ kaṇvasya vām iha suṣāva somyam madhu || 4 ||
ā no yātam upaśruty aśvinā somapītaye |
svāhā stomasya vardhanā pra kavī dhītibhir narā || 5 ||
yac cid dhi vām pura ṛṣayo juhūre 'vase narā |
ā yātam aśvinā gatam upemāṁ suṣṭutim mama || 6 ||
divaś cid rocanād adhy ā no gantaṁ svarvidā |
dhībhir vatsapracetasā stomebhir havanaśrutā || 7 ||
kim anye pary āsate 'smat stomebhir aśvinā |
putraḥ kaṇvasya vām ṛṣir gīrbhir vatso avīvṛdhat || 8 ||
ā vāṁ vipra ihāvase 'hvat stomebhir aśvinā |
ariprā vṛtrahantamā tā no bhūtam mayobhuvā || 9 ||
ā yad vāṁ yoṣaṇā ratham atiṣṭhad vājinīvasū |
viśvāny aśvinā yuvam pra dhītāny agacchatam || 10 ||
ataḥ sahasranirṇijā rathenā yātam aśvinā |
vatso vām madhumad vaco 'śaṁsīt kāvyaḥ kaviḥ || 11 ||
purumandrā purūvasū manotarā rayīṇām |
stomam me aśvināv imam abhi vahnī anūṣātām || 12 ||
ā no viśvāny aśvinā dhattaṁ rādhāṁsy ahrayā |
kṛtaṁ na ṛtviyāvato mā no rīradhataṁ nide || 13 ||
yan nāsatyā parāvati yad vā stho adhy ambare |
ataḥ sahasranirṇijā rathenā yātam aśvinā || 14 ||
yo vāṁ nāsatyāv ṛṣir gīrbhir vatso avīvṛdhat |
tasmai sahasranirṇijam iṣaṁ dhattaṁ ghṛtaścutam || 15 ||
prāsmā ūrjaṁ ghṛtaścutam aśvinā yacchataṁ yuvam |
yo vāṁ sumnāya tuṣṭavad vasūyād dānunas patī || 16 ||
ā no gantaṁ riśādasemaṁ stomam purubhujā |
kṛtaṁ naḥ suśriyo naremā dātam abhiṣṭaye || 17 ||
ā vāṁ viśvābhir ūtibhiḥ priyamedhā ahūṣata |
rājantāv adhvarāṇām aśvinā yāmahūtiṣu || 18 ||
ā no gantam mayobhuvāśvinā śambhuvā yuvam |
yo vāṁ vipanyū dhītibhir gīrbhir vatso avīvṛdhat || 19 ||
yābhiḥ kaṇvam medhātithiṁ yābhir vaśaṁ daśavrajam |
yābhir gośaryam āvataṁ tābhir no 'vataṁ narā || 20 ||
yābhir narā trasadasyum āvataṁ kṛtvye dhane |
tābhiḥ ṣv a1smām̐ aśvinā prāvataṁ vājasātaye || 21 ||
pra vāṁ stomāḥ suvṛktayo giro vardhantv aśvinā |
purutrā vṛtrahantamā tā no bhūtam puruspṛhā || 22 ||
trīṇi padāny aśvinor āviḥ sānti guhā paraḥ |
kavī ṛtasya patmabhir arvāg jīvebhyas pari || 23 ||
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).