Hymn to the Aśvins
Rigveda V.73 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 5 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 hither, ye divine twins! O Aśvins, ye horsemen of the dawn, ye healers and rescuers! Swift as the thought that flashes through the mind, swift as the eagle in his flight, ye traverse the sky from the eastern realm to the western.
Ye are the saviors of those in peril! The man who falleth into the pit crieth out, and ye are there. The woman in travail calleth, and ye answer. The blind man stumbles in darkness, and ye restore his sight. The leper crieth out, and ye make him whole. No misery escapeth your notice; no cry for help goeth unheard.
Ye are youthful and beautiful, your forms shining like polished gold. Your chariot is drawn by horses swifter than the wind. As you ride across the sky, the night giveth way before you, and the dawn breaketh in splendor. The birds sing at your approach; the flowers open their petals; all the world rejoiceth in your coming.
Yet ye are not distant gods dwelling in unreachable heights. Nay, ye are near to thy servants, intimate and caring. Ye know our sorrows; ye understand our needs. When we call, ye listen. When we suffer, ye compassion floweth forth like water from a spring.
Therefore we hymn your praises, O twin gods! Accept our worship and our gratitude. Ye who bringest light to the darkness and healing to the wounded—stay ever near us in our travail. Ride swiftly to our aid when we cry out. Let thy compassion be our strength; let thy presence be our salvation.
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 V.73
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.
yad adya sthaḥ parāvati yad arvāvaty aśvinā |
yad vā purū purubhujā yad antarikṣa ā gatam || 1 ||
iha tyā purubhūtamā purū daṁsāṁsi bibhratā |
varasyā yāmy adhrigū huve tuviṣṭamā bhuje || 2 ||
īrmānyad vapuṣe vapuś cakraṁ rathasya yemathuḥ |
pary anyā nāhuṣā yugā mahnā rajāṁsi dīyathaḥ || 3 ||
tad ū ṣu vām enā kṛtaṁ viśvā yad vām anu ṣṭave |
nānā jātāv arepasā sam asme bandhum eyathuḥ || 4 ||
ā yad vāṁ sūryā rathaṁ tiṣṭhad raghuṣyadaṁ sadā |
pari vām aruṣā vayo ghṛṇā varanta ātapaḥ || 5 ||
yuvor atriś ciketati narā sumnena cetasā |
gharmaṁ yad vām arepasaṁ nāsatyāsnā bhuraṇyati || 6 ||
ugro vāṁ kakuho yayiḥ śṛṇve yāmeṣu saṁtaniḥ |
yad vāṁ daṁsobhir aśvinātrir narāvavartati || 7 ||
madhva ū ṣu madhūyuvā rudrā siṣakti pipyuṣī |
yat samudrāti parṣathaḥ pakvāḥ pṛkṣo bharanta vām || 8 ||
satyam id vā u aśvinā yuvām āhur mayobhuvā |
tā yāman yāmahūtamā yāmann ā mṛḻayattamā || 9 ||
imā brahmāṇi vardhanāśvibhyāṁ santu śaṁtamā |
yā takṣāma rathām̐ ivāvocāma bṛhan namaḥ || 10 ||
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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