Hymn to the Aśvins
Rigveda III.58 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 3 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.
O Aśvins twain, ye horses bright! Ye chariots that fly through dawn! Come to us now from heaven's realm; come riding on your golden car. The morning breaketh grey and cold; the darkness fadeth from the sky. Ye bring the light; ye bring the warmth; ye usher in the day of days.
O healers wise, O merciful! Ye cure the sickness and the pain. Ye give the blind man back his sight; ye give the lame man legs to walk. The broken bones ye mend with skill; the wounds ye soothe with gentle touch. Ye are the champions of the weak; ye hear the cry of the distressed.
The mortals praise you, Aśvins sweet! Ye come at every break of dawn. The priests do see you in the mist, the twilight hour 'tween night and day. Ye ride before the sun itself; ye lead the way for Sūrya bold. The stars do pale when ye draw near; the cosmos greets your swift approach.
O horses, swift and never tired! Your chariot hath no equal on. The wheels do spin; the harness gleams; the yoke is fitted true and fast. Ye gallop through the vault of sky; ye leap from realm to realm above. Ye visit both the gods and men; ye know the pathways both divine.
Come now to us, O Aśvins dear! Accept this hymn with gladness true. The soma hath been pressed and strained; the butter flows in golden streams. The altar gleams with sacred flame; the priests do raise the ancient song. Grant us the blessing that we seek; grant us your favour and your grace.
Keep us in safety through the day; keep us protected through the night. Let no ill befall our kin; let sickness pass our dwelling by. Grant us the strength to face our foes; grant us the courage and the will. For ever let your names be praised; for ever let your glory shine.
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 III.58
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.
dhenuḥ pratnasya kāmyaṁ duhānāntaḥ putraś carati dakṣiṇāyāḥ |
ā dyotaniṁ vahati śubhrayāmoṣasaḥ stomo aśvināv ajīgaḥ || 1 ||
suyug vahanti prati vām ṛtenordhvā bhavanti pitareva medhāḥ |
jarethām asmad vi paṇer manīṣāṁ yuvor avaś cakṛmā yātam arvāk || 2 ||
suyugbhir aśvaiḥ suvṛtā rathena dasrāv imaṁ śṛṇutaṁ ślokam adreḥ |
kim aṅga vām praty avartiṁ gamiṣṭhāhur viprāso aśvinā purājāḥ || 3 ||
ā manyethām ā gataṁ kac cid evair viśve janāso aśvinā havante |
imā hi vāṁ goṛjīkā madhūni pra mitrāso na dadur usro agre || 4 ||
tiraḥ purū cid aśvinā rajāṁsy āṅgūṣo vām maghavānā janeṣu |
eha yātam pathibhir devayānair dasrāv ime vāṁ nidhayo madhūnām || 5 ||
purāṇam okaḥ sakhyaṁ śivaṁ vāṁ yuvor narā draviṇaṁ jahnāvyām |
punaḥ kṛṇvānāḥ sakhyā śivāni madhvā madema saha nū samānāḥ || 6 ||
aśvinā vāyunā yuvaṁ sudakṣā niyudbhiṣ ca sajoṣasā yuvānā |
nāsatyā tiroahnyaṁ juṣāṇā somam pibatam asridhā sudānū || 7 ||
aśvinā pari vām iṣaḥ purūcīr īyur gīrbhir yatamānā amṛdhrāḥ |
ratho ha vām ṛtajā adrijūtaḥ pari dyāvāpṛthivī yāti sadyaḥ || 8 ||
aśvinā madhuṣuttamo yuvākuḥ somas tam pātam ā gataṁ duroṇe |
ratho ha vām bhūri varpaḥ karikrat sutāvato niṣkṛtam āgamiṣṭhaḥ || 9 ||
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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