Hymn to the Aśvins
Rigveda VI.62 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 6 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.
O Aśvins, ye twin lords of healing and swift deliverance, hear us! Ye who ride across the heavens in your golden chariot, ye who bring relief to the afflicted and strength to the weary — we praise you.
Come unto us with swift hands and swift minds. Ye are the physicians of the gods, the healers of all ills. With you comes the remedy for every sickness, the balm for every wound. Ye have restored sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and life itself to the dying. The lame have walked again beneath your blessing; the withered have grown strong.
We call upon you in our need. When sorrow grips the heart and pain afflicts the body, we invoke your holy names. Ye have power over all suffering, all distress. Your compassion knows no bounds. Even as the night gives way to the dawn, so do you bring relief where darkness reigned.
Ye have been the saviors of mortals in their peril. When the great waters rose and threatened to overwhelm, you brought safe passage. When enemies gathered in their multitudes, you granted victory to the righteous. In every moment of extremity, you have stood as our protectors.
Noble horsemen! Swift riders of the sky! Come now and bless this sacrifice. Accept our hymn of praise and let your favor descend upon us. Grant us long life, grant us health, grant us victory over all adversaries. May your chariot ever be swift to our aid.
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 VI.62
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.
stuṣe narā divo asya prasantāśvinā huve jaramāṇo arkaiḥ |
yā sadya usrā vyuṣi jmo antān yuyūṣataḥ pary urū varāṁsi || 1 ||
tā yajñam ā śucibhiś cakramāṇā rathasya bhānuṁ rurucū rajobhiḥ |
purū varāṁsy amitā mimānāpo dhanvāny ati yātho ajrān || 2 ||
tā ha tyad vartir yad aradhram ugretthā dhiya ūhathuḥ śaśvad aśvaiḥ |
manojavebhir iṣiraiḥ śayadhyai pari vyathir dāśuṣo martyasya || 3 ||
tā navyaso jaramāṇasya manmopa bhūṣato yuyujānasaptī |
śubham pṛkṣam iṣam ūrjaṁ vahantā hotā yakṣat pratno adhrug yuvānā || 4 ||
tā valgū dasrā puruśākatamā pratnā navyasā vacasā vivāse |
yā śaṁsate stuvate śambhaviṣṭhā babhūvatur gṛṇate citrarātī || 5 ||
tā bhujyuṁ vibhir adbhyaḥ samudrāt tugrasya sūnum ūhathū rajobhiḥ |
areṇubhir yojanebhir bhujantā patatribhir arṇaso nir upasthāt || 6 ||
vi jayuṣā rathyā yātam adriṁ śrutaṁ havaṁ vṛṣaṇā vadhrimatyāḥ |
daśasyantā śayave pipyathur gām iti cyavānā sumatim bhuraṇyū || 7 ||
yad rodasī pradivo asti bhūmā heḻo devānām uta martyatrā |
tad ādityā vasavo rudriyāso rakṣoyuje tapur aghaṁ dadhāta || 8 ||
ya īṁ rājānāv ṛtuthā vidadhad rajaso mitro varuṇaś ciketat |
gambhīrāya rakṣase hetim asya droghāya cid vacasa ānavāya || 9 ||
antaraiś cakrais tanayāya vartir dyumatā yātaṁ nṛvatā rathena |
sanutyena tyajasā martyasya vanuṣyatām api śīrṣā vavṛktam || 10 ||
ā paramābhir uta madhyamābhir niyudbhir yātam avamābhir arvāk |
dṛḻhasya cid gomato vi vrajasya duro vartaṁ gṛṇate citrarātī || 11 ||
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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