Hymn to the Aśvins
Rigveda IV.46 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 4 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.
Come now, O Aśvins, ye golden-faced ones! Come swift upon your chariot drawn by the wind. This day we call upon you, twin healers, bearers of the radiant light. Your horses know no weariness; they tread the roads between the worlds. Come to our sacrifice, we pray thee.
Vāyu rides before thee, the mighty wind. His breath drives all the worlds. He moves unseen through heaven and earth, invisible and swift. O wind-god, thou art the first to touch the soma's sweetness! O Vāyu, accept our calling. Come to the sacrifice with the Aśvins twain.
The dawn breaks red across the eastern waters. See how the Aśvins rise together, their chariot golden, their faces bright as a thousand suns. They heal the old. They restore the broken. They grant us length of days and freedom from harm.
O ye who rescue from the depths of the sea! O ye who drive away all evil! Hear us now as we pour the soma. Drink deep, O Aśvins, drink with Vāyu the wind. Let your blessing fall upon this altar. Let your favor rest upon our houses and our herds.
Grant us the gift of swift passage. Grant us courage in battle. Grant us the embrace of our belovèd ones. Ye twin lords of healing, accept this offering. Come now. Come swift. Come to our sacrifice, O Aśvins! Come, O Vāyu!
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 IV.46
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.
agram pibā madhūnāṁ sutaṁ vāyo diviṣṭiṣu |
tvaṁ hi pūrvapā asi || 1 ||
śatenā no abhiṣṭibhir niyutvām̐ indrasārathiḥ |
vāyo sutasya tṛmpatam || 2 ||
ā vāṁ sahasraṁ haraya indravāyū abhi prayaḥ |
vahantu somapītaye || 3 ||
rathaṁ hiraṇyavandhuram indravāyū svadhvaram |
ā hi sthātho divispṛśam || 4 ||
rathena pṛthupājasā dāśvāṁsam upa gacchatam |
indravāyū ihā gatam || 5 ||
indravāyū ayaṁ sutas taṁ devebhiḥ sajoṣasā |
pibataṁ dāśuṣo gṛhe || 6 ||
iha prayāṇam astu vām indravāyū vimocanam |
iha vāṁ somapītaye || 7 ||
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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