Hymn to the Aśvins
Rigveda VIII.85 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 my call, O Nāsatyas, Aśvins, come, the two of you — to drink the sweet soma.
2. Hear this praise-song of mine, O Aśvins, hear this call of mine — to drink the sweet soma.
3. This Kṛṣṇa calls you, O Aśvins, you two rich in strong steeds — to drink the sweet soma.
4. Hear the call of the singer, of Kṛṣṇa as he praises, O men — to drink the sweet soma.
5. Bring unfailing shelter to the inspired poet who praises you, O men — to drink the sweet soma.
6. Go to the house of the offering worshiper who praises you thus, O Aśvins — to drink the sweet soma.
7. Yoke the donkey to your chariot of firm frame, you two rich in bulls — to drink the sweet soma.
8. Come with your three-seated, threefold chariot, O Aśvins — to drink the sweet soma.
9. Now favor my songs, O Nāsatyas, Aśvins, the two of you — to drink the sweet soma.
Translator's note: "vājinīvasū" (v.3) and "vṛṣaṇvasū" (v.7) are compound epithets of the Aśvins describing their wealth in horses/strength and in bulls/virile power; rendered here conservatively as "rich in strong steeds" and "rich in bulls." The singer named in verses 3–4, Kṛṣṇa, is the traditional ṛṣi to whom this hymn is attributed.
Colophon
Rigveda VIII.85 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.85
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 me havaṁ nāsatyāśvinā gacchataṁ yuvam |
madhvaḥ somasya pītaye || 1 ||
imam me stomam aśvinemam me śṛṇutaṁ havam |
madhvaḥ somasya pītaye || 2 ||
ayaṁ vāṁ kṛṣṇo aśvinā havate vājinīvasū |
madhvaḥ somasya pītaye || 3 ||
śṛṇutaṁ jaritur havaṁ kṛṣṇasya stuvato narā |
madhvaḥ somasya pītaye || 4 ||
chardir yantam adābhyaṁ viprāya stuvate narā |
madhvaḥ somasya pītaye || 5 ||
gacchataṁ dāśuṣo gṛham itthā stuvato aśvinā |
madhvaḥ somasya pītaye || 6 ||
yuñjāthāṁ rāsabhaṁ rathe vīḍvaṅge vṛṣaṇvasū |
madhvaḥ somasya pītaye || 7 ||
trivandhureṇa trivṛtā rathenā yātam aśvinā |
madhvaḥ somasya pītaye || 8 ||
nū me giro nāsatyāśvinā prāvataṁ yuvam |
madhvaḥ somasya pītaye || 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).