Hymn to the Aśvins
Rigveda I.46 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.
Hail to the Aśvins, the twin lords of dawn! Swift as the thought, swifter than the wind, they drive their chariot across the sky. They are the healers, the preservers, the friends of man. Before the sun appeareth, lo—the Aśvins have already journeyed far.
Ye golden-armed ones! Ye riders of the morning! We invoke you as the dawn breaketh. Your chariot is drawn by swift horses—some say by birds, some say by the very rays of light themselves. How swift is your passage! No mortal eye can follow you.
Ye have healed the blind; ye have restored the lame to walking. The man who was broken hath been made whole by your grace. Ye are merciful toward those who suffer. Not for the proud and the strong do ye care, but for the afflicted, the outcast, the sick.
In days of old, ye came to rescue those in peril. When the ship was wrecked upon the rocks, ye drew it forth. When the warrior lay dying upon the field, ye revived him. Ye are swift to aid, swift to comfort, swift to deliver.
O lords of healing! We have heard of your deeds. The stories are told and retold—how ye saved this man, how ye succored that woman. Come now to us as ye have come to our ancestors! Look upon us with favor.
We make our offerings as the dawn doth break. We kindle the fire and speak your names. Accept our prayer, O Aśvins! Be our protectors as ye travel through the sky. And should we ever fall into peril, should sickness strike us down, should we cry out in need—O swift and gentle ones, remember us. Come to our aid as ye have come to so many before. Thus do we praise the Aśvins, the healers of the dawn.
Colophon
Rigveda I.46 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.46
eṣo uṣā apūrvyā vy ucchati priyā divaḥ |
stuṣe vām aśvinā bṛhat || 1 ||
yā dasrā sindhumātarā manotarā rayīṇām |
dhiyā devā vasuvidā || 2 ||
vacyante vāṁ kakuhāso jūrṇāyām adhi viṣṭapi |
yad vāṁ ratho vibhiṣ patāt || 3 ||
haviṣā jāro apām piparti papurir narā |
pitā kuṭasya carṣaṇiḥ || 4 ||
ādāro vām matīnāṁ nāsatyā matavacasā |
pātaṁ somasya dhṛṣṇuyā || 5 ||
yā naḥ pīparad aśvinā jyotiṣmatī tamas tiraḥ |
tām asme rāsāthām iṣam || 6 ||
ā no nāvā matīnāṁ yātam pārāya gantave |
yuñjāthām aśvinā ratham || 7 ||
aritraṁ vāṁ divas pṛthu tīrthe sindhūnāṁ rathaḥ |
dhiyā yuyujra indavaḥ || 8 ||
divas kaṇvāsa indavo vasu sindhūnām pade |
svaṁ vavriṁ kuha dhitsathaḥ || 9 ||
abhūd u bhā u aṁśave hiraṇyam prati sūryaḥ |
vy akhyaj jihvayāsitaḥ || 10 ||
abhūd u pāram etave panthā ṛtasya sādhuyā |
adarśi vi srutir divaḥ || 11 ||
tat-tad id aśvinor avo jaritā prati bhūṣati |
made somasya pipratoḥ || 12 ||
vāvasānā vivasvati somasya pītyā girā |
manuṣvac chambhū ā gatam || 13 ||
yuvor uṣā anu śriyam parijmanor upācarat |
ṛtā vanatho aktubhiḥ || 14 ||
ubhā pibatam aśvinobhā naḥ śarma yacchatam |
avidriyābhir ūtibhiḥ || 15 ||
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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