Hymn to the Aśvins
Rigveda X.40 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 10 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 by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
Whither driveth your chariot, and who, among men, doth tend the gleaming one, guiding it well upon its path?
That chariot which stirreth in the morning's hush, ranging o’er kindreds, moving with each dawn— who by wit and toil upholdeth its course?
Where at eventide, where in the light of dawn, do the Aśvins take their meat?
Where passed they the dark hours?
Who draweth you unto rest, as a widow doth her husband’s brother, or as a maiden stealeth to her tryst with a gallant youth?
Ye rise with the early light, like an aged couple in need, yet at every dawn ye come, worthy of the rite, unto the house.
For whom do ye vanish from sight?
Or to whose soma-pressings do ye descend like princes to their prize?
As hunters seek the steps of wild elephants, so do we call you at dusk and daybreak, bringing forth our offering.
Ye bring heart's ease to the one who poureth in the rightful manner— ye high-born, ye lords of beauty.
And Ghoṣā, the king’s daughter, moved round about you, crying:
“I ask this of you, O men divine:
Will ye be with me by day, and with me by night?
Will ye strive on my behalf, as for the prize of steeds and chariot?”
Round your shining car ye twain, O poets, keep circle.
Ye come to the houses of singers, as once came Kutsa unto the sage.
The bee doth bear your honey close upon her lips, even as a maiden keepeth silent her tryst.
Ye came to Bhujyu, ye to Vaśa, ye to Śiñjāra, and unto Uśanā.
Though the foe may shun your fellowship, yet I delight in your grace and the aid ye give.
Ye opened the way wide for Kr̥śa and for Śayu, for the widow and the worshipful.
Ye broke the thundering fence with its seven mouths, and brought gain to the seeker.
The maiden is born, and the young boy taketh flight; and when the green shoots rise by your wonder-working, the rivers run down to him as into a vale— she is with him by day and by night: behold, this is wedlock!
They mourn among the living, they make exchange at the rite.
Long have the men devised this bond.
A treasure it is unto the fathers, this joining they have wrought— a joy to husbands, to embrace their wives.
This we know not—declare it, we pray:
how doth the youth lie still within the womb of the maiden?
Might we go to the house of the fruitful bull, whose heart is bound to the red-hued cow? We long for this, O Aśvins.
Your kindness is come, O Aśvins of the prize-winning mares.
Our yearnings lie heavy and fast in our hearts.
Ye have become the twin herdsmen, the fair-faced lords.
May we draw near the halls of Aryaman whom ye love.
Come ye to the house of Manu, where joy is found— give wealth and valiant sons to the wise-tongued man.
Make a crossing of sweet waters, O lords of beauty.
Break down the post that blocketh our path—the ill will.
Tell us, we pray, where this day, among which clans, do the wondrous Aśvins find their mirth?
Who hath held you near? To what house of seer or sacrificer have ye turned your shining faces?
Colophon
This hymn is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation are to be documented during audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: ṛgveda X.40
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.
rathaṁ yāntaṁ kuha ko ha vāṁ narā prati dyumantaṁ suvitāya bhūṣati |
prātaryāvāṇaṁ vibhvaṁ viśe-viśe vastor-vastor vahamānaṁ dhiyā śami || 1 ||
kuha svid doṣā kuha vastor aśvinā kuhābhipitvaṁ karataḥ kuhoṣatuḥ |
ko vāṁ śayutrā vidhaveva devaram maryaṁ na yoṣā kṛṇute sadhastha ā || 2 ||
prātar jarethe jaraṇeva kāpayā vastor-vastor yajatā gacchatho gṛham |
kasya dhvasrā bhavathaḥ kasya vā narā rājaputreva savanāva gacchathaḥ || 3 ||
yuvām mṛgeva vāraṇā mṛgaṇyavo doṣā vastor haviṣā ni hvayāmahe |
yuvaṁ hotrām ṛtuthā juhvate nareṣaṁ janāya vahathaḥ śubhas patī || 4 ||
yuvāṁ ha ghoṣā pary aśvinā yatī rājña ūce duhitā pṛcche vāṁ narā |
bhūtam me ahna uta bhūtam aktave 'śvāvate rathine śaktam arvate || 5 ||
yuvaṁ kavī ṣṭhaḥ pary aśvinā rathaṁ viśo na kutso jaritur naśāyathaḥ |
yuvor ha makṣā pary aśvinā madhv āsā bharata niṣkṛtaṁ na yoṣaṇā || 6 ||
yuvaṁ ha bhujyuṁ yuvam aśvinā vaśaṁ yuvaṁ śiñjāram uśanām upārathuḥ |
yuvo rarāvā pari sakhyam āsate yuvor aham avasā sumnam ā cake || 7 ||
yuvaṁ ha kṛśaṁ yuvam aśvinā śayuṁ yuvaṁ vidhantaṁ vidhavām uruṣyathaḥ |
yuvaṁ sanibhyaḥ stanayantam aśvināpa vrajam ūrṇuthaḥ saptāsyam || 8 ||
janiṣṭa yoṣā patayat kanīnako vi cāruhan vīrudho daṁsanā anu |
āsmai rīyante nivaneva sindhavo 'smā ahne bhavati tat patitvanam || 9 ||
jīvaṁ rudanti vi mayante adhvare dīrghām anu prasitiṁ dīdhiyur naraḥ |
vāmam pitṛbhyo ya idaṁ samerire mayaḥ patibhyo janayaḥ pariṣvaje || 10 ||
na tasya vidma tad u ṣu pra vocata yuvā ha yad yuvatyāḥ kṣeti yoniṣu |
priyosriyasya vṛṣabhasya retino gṛhaṁ gamemāśvinā tad uśmasi || 11 ||
ā vām agan sumatir vājinīvasū ny aśvinā hṛtsu kāmā ayaṁsata |
abhūtaṁ gopā mithunā śubhas patī priyā aryamṇo duryām̐ aśīmahi || 12 ||
tā mandasānā manuṣo duroṇa ā dhattaṁ rayiṁ sahavīraṁ vacasyave |
kṛtaṁ tīrthaṁ suprapāṇaṁ śubhas patī sthāṇum patheṣṭhām apa durmatiṁ hatam || 13 ||
kva svid adya katamāsv aśvinā vikṣu dasrā mādayete śubhas patī |
ka īṁ ni yeme katamasya jagmatur viprasya vā yajamānasya vā gṛham || 14 ||
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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