Hymn to the Aśvins
Rigveda I.183 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.
Come, let us recount thy wonders, O Aśvins! Come, let us speak thy glory throughout the lands! For what gods have done such deeds as ye have wrought?
Ye have lifted the blind Bhujyu from the sea and brought him to his father's house. Ye have given sight to Rjrāśva, whose eyes had been darkened from birth. Ye have made whole the crippled legs of Viśpalā the warrior-maid, that she might ride once more into battle. Ye have granted speech to the mute; ye have given hearing to the deaf. What company of gods hath done such mercies?
Ye have restored the youth to Cyavāna, whose body had grown bent with age. Ye have made the barren woman to conceive. Ye have raised up the fallen; ye have lifted high the lowly. And all these things ye have done, asking nothing in return save that men should remember thy names and sing thy praises when the dawn breaks.
Ye have journeyed through the night to find those who call upon you. Ye have ridden swiftly across seas and mountains. Ye have penetrated the darkest caves. Nowhere is too distant for thy mercy; nowhere too difficult for thy healing touch. The very universe obeys thy will, and even death himself doth yield before thee.
O Aśvins, your wisdom is vast as the ocean; your strength is mighty as the storm. Your love for mankind burneth like the sun. And so we worship thee, we celebrate thee, we make offerings of soma and praise. Be gracious unto us, O twin brothers of the dawn! Grant us thy blessings this day and always!
Colophon
Rigveda I.183 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.183
taṁ yuñjāthām manaso yo javīyān trivandhuro vṛṣaṇā yas tricakraḥ |
yenopayāthaḥ sukṛto duroṇaṁ tridhātunā patatho vir na parṇaiḥ || 1 ||
suvṛd ratho vartate yann abhi kṣāṁ yat tiṣṭhathaḥ kratumantānu pṛkṣe |
vapur vapuṣyā sacatām iyaṁ gīr divo duhitroṣasā sacethe || 2 ||
ā tiṣṭhataṁ suvṛtaṁ yo ratho vām anu vratāni vartate haviṣmān |
yena narā nāsatyeṣayadhyai vartir yāthas tanayāya tmane ca || 3 ||
mā vāṁ vṛko mā vṛkīr ā dadharṣīn mā pari varktam uta māti dhaktam |
ayaṁ vām bhāgo nihita iyaṁ gīr dasrāv ime vāṁ nidhayo madhūnām || 4 ||
yuvāṁ gotamaḥ purumīḻho atrir dasrā havate 'vase haviṣmān |
diśaṁ na diṣṭām ṛjūyeva yantā me havaṁ nāsatyopa yātam || 5 ||
atāriṣma tamasas pāram asya prati vāṁ stomo aśvināv adhāyi |
eha yātam pathibhir devayānair vidyāmeṣaṁ vṛjanaṁ jīradānum || 6 ||
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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