Hymn to the Aśvins
Rigveda V.77 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 tales of those whom the Aśvins have rescued, O singers! How many hath thou saved from the depths of despair and ruin? The blind man cried out in darkness, and thou didst restore his sight. The crippled man lay helpless, and thou didst straighten his limbs.
Bhujyu was cast into the vast ocean, abandoned and drowning far from the land of his fathers. His strength was failing; the waters pulled him down into their cold embrace. Then came thy chariot, O Aśvins, racing across the waves as if the sea were solid earth beneath thy wheels. Thou didst lift him and carry him to safety, back to his people, back to the warmth of his hearth.
Kanyā the maiden was cursed, and no man would take her as wife. She lay cast aside, a thing of pity and scorn. But thou didst hear her prayer, O Aśvins, and thou didst transform her. In thy kindness, thou madest her worthy of love, and she became the bride of a great warrior.
Countless are thy deeds of salvation! The lame walk. The blind see. The childless woman beareth sons. The sick man riseth from his bed renewed. Thy reputation spreadeth across the earth like the breaking dawn—all creatures know thy name and trust in thy mercy.
We sing of thee, O rescuers, O healers, O noble Aśvins. Thy compassion knoweth no limit. Thy power preserveth all that calleth upon thee in their hour of need.
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.77
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.
prātaryāvāṇā prathamā yajadhvam purā gṛdhrād araruṣaḥ pibātaḥ |
prātar hi yajñam aśvinā dadhāte pra śaṁsanti kavayaḥ pūrvabhājaḥ || 1 ||
prātar yajadhvam aśvinā hinota na sāyam asti devayā ajuṣṭam |
utānyo asmad yajate vi cāvaḥ pūrvaḥ-pūrvo yajamāno vanīyān || 2 ||
hiraṇyatvaṅ madhuvarṇo ghṛtasnuḥ pṛkṣo vahann ā ratho vartate vām |
manojavā aśvinā vātaraṁhā yenātiyātho duritāni viśvā || 3 ||
yo bhūyiṣṭhaṁ nāsatyābhyāṁ viveṣa caniṣṭham pitvo rarate vibhāge |
sa tokam asya pīparac chamībhir anūrdhvabhāsaḥ sadam it tuturyāt || 4 ||
sam aśvinor avasā nūtanena mayobhuvā supraṇītī gamema |
ā no rayiṁ vahatam ota vīrān ā viśvāny amṛtā saubhagāni || 5 ||
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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