Hymn to the Aśvins
Rigveda V.75 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.
Hear the tale of thy mighty works, O Aśvins! Ye who hath wrought miracles beyond the counting, ye whose deeds are sung in songs and told in stories passed from father unto son.
There was a blind man who wandered in darkness, unable to see the faces of his beloved or the beauty of the world. He cried out unto you, and ye came. Ye gave him eyes to see; ye restored the light of knowledge to his mind. Now he walketh upright, his face turned toward the sun, blessing thy name with every breath.
There was a woman caught in the waters, the current strong and cruel, her strength failing moment by moment. All had given her up for lost. But she called upon thee, and swift as the wind ye came. Ye plucked her from the abyss and set her upon the shore, breathing life back into her exhausted body.
There was a leper, cast out from his kin and his tribe, shunned by all who knew him, dwelling alone in despair. He was as good as dead—worse than dead, for he suffered. Yet thou didst hear his prayer. Ye came and made him whole, cured him of his affliction, restored him to his people. His grateful tears fell like rain upon the ground.
All these things thou hast done! All these miracles thou hast wrought! Therefore do we hymn thy praises with all the fervor of our hearts. O twin gods, ye rescuers and healers! O Aśvins divine! Come to those who suffer; hear the cry of the afflicted; bring thy swift aid to the desperate. For thou art merciful, thou art mighty, and thy compassion knoweth no bounds.
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.75
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.
prati priyatamaṁ rathaṁ vṛṣaṇaṁ vasuvāhanam |
stotā vām aśvināv ṛṣiḥ stomena prati bhūṣati mādhvī mama śrutaṁ havam || 1 ||
atyāyātam aśvinā tiro viśvā ahaṁ sanā |
dasrā hiraṇyavartanī suṣumnā sindhuvāhasā mādhvī mama śrutaṁ havam || 2 ||
ā no ratnāni bibhratāv aśvinā gacchataṁ yuvam |
rudrā hiraṇyavartanī juṣāṇā vājinīvasū mādhvī mama śrutaṁ havam || 3 ||
suṣṭubho vāṁ vṛṣaṇvasū rathe vāṇīcy āhitā |
uta vāṁ kakuho mṛgaḥ pṛkṣaḥ kṛṇoti vāpuṣo mādhvī mama śrutaṁ havam || 4 ||
bodhinmanasā rathyeṣirā havanaśrutā |
vibhiś cyavānam aśvinā ni yātho advayāvinam mādhvī mama śrutaṁ havam || 5 ||
ā vāṁ narā manoyujo 'śvāsaḥ pruṣitapsavaḥ |
vayo vahantu pītaye saha sumnebhir aśvinā mādhvī mama śrutaṁ havam || 6 ||
aśvināv eha gacchataṁ nāsatyā mā vi venatam |
tiraś cid aryayā pari vartir yātam adābhyā mādhvī mama śrutaṁ havam || 7 ||
asmin yajñe adābhyā jaritāraṁ śubhas patī |
avasyum aśvinā yuvaṁ gṛṇantam upa bhūṣatho mādhvī mama śrutaṁ havam || 8 ||
abhūd uṣā ruśatpaśur āgnir adhāyy ṛtviyaḥ |
ayoji vāṁ vṛṣaṇvasū ratho dasrāv amartyo mādhvī mama śrutaṁ havam || 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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