Hymn to the Aśvins
Rigveda I.34 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, O Aśvins, golden-handed twins, who ride across the sky!
Your chariot of gold doth gleam; your horses swifter than all mortal steeds.
Ye are the physicians of the gods; ye are the healers of the world.
Come now unto our sacrifice; receive our offerings and our praise.
The Aśvins are the harbingers of dawn; they ride before the sun.
Their chariot hath wheels of gold; its axles shine like polished light.
The horses that do draw them forth are swift beyond all telling—
Faster than the eagle; swifter than the thought of mortal mind.
Ye have the power to heal all wounds; ye can restore the sight to blind.
The lame shall walk; the broken bones shall mend beneath thy touch.
Ye gave a wooden leg unto Vispala, the warrior maiden bold,
That she might ride again to battle as she did in days of old.
The aged man, grown weak with years, doth find his youth restored by thee.
The barren woman beareth sons; the sick arise from fever's grip.
Ye are the refuge of all those who suffer pain and deep despair.
There is no malady, no wound that thou canst not make whole again.
The Aśvins love the righteous men; ye favor those with faithful hearts.
Ye guard the travelers on the road; ye shield them from all hidden perils.
The merchant who doth call upon thy name shall never be betrayed.
The family that doth honor thee shall see no sorrow ever more.
Come now in your golden chariot; come forth to bless our sacrifice.
Accept the honey-cakes we offer; drink the Soma that we pour.
Grant us healing for our ailments; grant us strength for all our days.
May we live long; may we bear fine sons; may we prosper ever more.
Colophon
Rigveda I.34 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.34
triś cin no adyā bhavataṁ navedasā vibhur vāṁ yāma uta rātir aśvinā |
yuvor hi yantraṁ himyeva vāsaso 'bhyāyaṁsenyā bhavatam manīṣibhiḥ || 1 ||
trayaḥ pavayo madhuvāhane rathe somasya venām anu viśva id viduḥ |
trayaḥ skambhāsaḥ skabhitāsa ārabhe trir naktaṁ yāthas trir v aśvinā divā || 2 ||
samāne ahan trir avadyagohanā trir adya yajñam madhunā mimikṣatam |
trir vājavatīr iṣo aśvinā yuvaṁ doṣā asmabhyam uṣasaś ca pinvatam || 3 ||
trir vartir yātaṁ trir anuvrate jane triḥ suprāvye tredheva śikṣatam |
trir nāndyaṁ vahatam aśvinā yuvaṁ triḥ pṛkṣo asme akṣareva pinvatam || 4 ||
trir no rayiṁ vahatam aśvinā yuvaṁ trir devatātā trir utāvataṁ dhiyaḥ |
triḥ saubhagatvaṁ trir uta śravāṁsi nas triṣṭhaṁ vāṁ sūre duhitā ruhad ratham || 5 ||
trir no aśvinā divyāni bheṣajā triḥ pārthivāni trir u dattam adbhyaḥ |
omānaṁ śaṁyor mamakāya sūnave tridhātu śarma vahataṁ śubhas patī || 6 ||
trir no aśvinā yajatā dive-dive pari tridhātu pṛthivīm aśāyatam |
tisro nāsatyā rathyā parāvata ātmeva vātaḥ svasarāṇi gacchatam || 7 ||
trir aśvinā sindhubhiḥ saptamātṛbhis traya āhāvās tredhā haviṣ kṛtam |
tisraḥ pṛthivīr upari pravā divo nākaṁ rakṣethe dyubhir aktubhir hitam || 8 ||
kva1 trī cakrā trivṛto rathasya kva1 trayo vandhuro ye sanīḻāḥ |
kadā yogo vājino rāsabhasya yena yajñaṁ nāsatyopayāthaḥ || 9 ||
ā nāsatyā gacchataṁ hūyate havir madhvaḥ pibatam madhupebhir āsabhiḥ |
yuvor hi pūrvaṁ savitoṣaso ratham ṛtāya citraṁ ghṛtavantam iṣyati || 10 ||
ā nāsatyā tribhir ekādaśair iha devebhir yātam madhupeyam aśvinā |
prāyus tāriṣṭaṁ nī rapāṁsi mṛkṣataṁ sedhataṁ dveṣo bhavataṁ sacābhuvā || 11 ||
ā no aśvinā trivṛtā rathenārvāñcaṁ rayiṁ vahataṁ suvīram |
śṛṇvantā vām avase johavīmi vṛdhe ca no bhavataṁ vājasātau || 12 ||
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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