Hymn to the Aśvins
Rigveda IV.47 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.
Ye great ones! Ye swift-moving deities! The Aśvins and the wind-god come together to our calling. The twin healers ride swift upon the whirlwind. Vāyu drives the cosmos. Together they move through earth and sky, unseen and mighty.
O Aśvins, ye with hands of gold! Ye have drawn the sun from night's abyss. Ye have healed the blind and the lame. Ye have restored youth to the aged. Ye move through heaven on your golden car, drawn by swift horses that know not fatigue.
And Vāyu! O thou invisible mighty one! Thou movest through all things. No barrier holds thee. The wind is thy breath, the storm thy chariot. Thou dost carry the prayers of men upward to the gods. Thou dost bring forth all creatures and sustainest them.
These three—the Aśvins twain and the wind—come together at the sacrifice. They bend near to hear our voices. We honor thee, O Aśvins! We honor thee, O Vāyu! Accept the soma. Accept the barley-cake. Accept our words of praise.
Grant us health and vigor. Grant us strength to endure. Grant us the wisdom to walk righteous paths. Let the Aśvins heal our sorrows. Let the wind-god blow away our sins. O mighty ones, accept this altar fire. Remain with us. Dwell among us. We call upon you with all devotion.
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.47
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.
vāyo śukro ayāmi te madhvo agraṁ diviṣṭiṣu |
ā yāhi somapītaye spārho deva niyutvatā || 1 ||
indraś ca vāyav eṣāṁ somānām pītim arhathaḥ |
yuvāṁ hi yantīndavo nimnam āpo na sadhryak || 2 ||
vāyav indraś ca śuṣmiṇā sarathaṁ śavasas patī |
niyutvantā na ūtaya ā yātaṁ somapītaye || 3 ||
yā vāṁ santi puruspṛho niyuto dāśuṣe narā |
asme tā yajñavāhasendravāyū ni yacchatam || 4 ||
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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