Hymn to the Aśvins
Rigveda I.118 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) addressed to the Aśvins, the twin divine horsemen, healers of the gods and bringers of dawn. It is one of the 1,028 hymns of the Rigveda organized within Maṇḍala 1, the first of ten books. The ṛṣi (seer) to whom this hymn is attributed and its precise liturgical context are recorded in the traditional Śākalya Anukramaṇī.
The Rigveda is the oldest of the four Vedas and one of the oldest surviving religious texts in the world, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Indus-Sarasvatī region. Its hymns were preserved through oral transmission across millennia before being committed to writing. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
O Aśvins dear, companions of the dawn! Ye ride before the light hath come upon the world. The stars still gleam, the moon doth linger still, yet there ye are, ascending up the hill.
Ye are the friends of every mortal heart, the ones who stand forever at the start. Before the sun doth rise with golden ray, ye have already come to greet the day.
O swift ones, ye do move with such great speed that none can follow thee in mortal deed. Yet slow to all who call upon thy name, ye come with gentleness and without shame.
Ye are the gods of healing and of grace, the ones who wear forever shining face. If fever cometh to the child so dear, the Aśvins come and take away the fear.
Ye are the ones who comfort the distressed, who give unto the weary ones their rest. Ye are the physicians of the ailing soul, who make the broken spirit ever whole.
Ye are the messengers between the earth and heaven, to mortals and to gods thy help is given. What travels thy swift chariot, sleek and bright, across the starlit wastes throughout the night?
Where doth thy journey end? Who knoweth well the secrets that within thy heart do dwell? We mortals only know that ye are kind, and in your mercy, blessings we do find.
Come swift, come swift to us this blessed morn, come now before the sun is fully born. Accept our offerings of butter, milk, and song, and grant unto our lives thy care most strong.
O Aśvins twin, accept our humble prayer, and grant to us forever thy bright care.
Colophon
Rigveda I.118 is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, the version that has been transmitted and is considered canonical in the mainstream tradition. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE; this hymn addresses the Aśvins, the twin divine horsemen, healers of the gods and bringers of dawn. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation session to be documented during Kshatriya Blood Rule audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: ṛgveda I.118
ā vāṁ ratho aśvinā śyenapatvā sumṛḻīkaḥ svavām̐ yātv arvāṅ |
yo martyasya manaso javīyān trivandhuro vṛṣaṇā vātaraṁhāḥ || 1 ||
trivandhureṇa trivṛtā rathena tricakreṇa suvṛtā yātam arvāk |
pinvataṁ gā jinvatam arvato no vardhayatam aśvinā vīram asme || 2 ||
pravadyāmanā suvṛtā rathena dasrāv imaṁ śṛṇutaṁ ślokam adreḥ |
kim aṅga vām praty avartiṁ gamiṣṭhāhur viprāso aśvinā purājāḥ || 3 ||
ā vāṁ śyenāso aśvinā vahantu rathe yuktāsa āśavaḥ pataṁgāḥ |
ye apturo divyāso na gṛdhrā abhi prayo nāsatyā vahanti || 4 ||
ā vāṁ rathaṁ yuvatis tiṣṭhad atra juṣṭvī narā duhitā sūryasya |
pari vām aśvā vapuṣaḥ pataṁgā vayo vahantv aruṣā abhīke || 5 ||
ud vandanam airataṁ daṁsanābhir ud rebhaṁ dasrā vṛṣaṇā śacībhiḥ |
niṣ ṭaugryam pārayathaḥ samudrāt punaś cyavānaṁ cakrathur yuvānam || 6 ||
yuvam atraye 'vanītāya taptam ūrjam omānam aśvināv adhattam |
yuvaṁ kaṇvāyāpiriptāya cakṣuḥ praty adhattaṁ suṣṭutiṁ jujuṣāṇā || 7 ||
yuvaṁ dhenuṁ śayave nādhitāyāpinvatam aśvinā pūrvyāya |
amuñcataṁ vartikām aṁhaso niḥ prati jaṅghāṁ viśpalāyā adhattam || 8 ||
yuvaṁ śvetam pedava indrajūtam ahihanam aśvinādattam aśvam |
johūtram aryo abhibhūtim ugraṁ sahasrasāṁ vṛṣaṇaṁ vīḍvaṅgam || 9 ||
tā vāṁ narā sv avase sujātā havāmahe aśvinā nādhamānāḥ |
ā na upa vasumatā rathena giro juṣāṇā suvitāya yātam || 10 ||
ā śyenasya javasā nūtanenāsme yātaṁ nāsatyā sajoṣāḥ |
have hi vām aśvinā rātahavyaḥ śaśvattamāyā uṣaso vyuṣṭau || 11 ||
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).
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