Hymn to the Aśvins
Rigveda VII.68 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 7 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 healers! Come forth from the East where the dawn is breaking! Come riding in your swift chariot! Bring with you all manner of blessings!
Ye have healed so many in ages past! The lame have danced; the blind have seen; the deaf have heard. Ye have raised the dead; ye have restored the lost. There is nothing that is impossible for you!
O divine physicians, hear now the cry of those who suffer! The sick lie upon their beds, burning with fever. The wounded cry out in pain. The afflicted call upon your name!
Come to us now, O kind and gentle ones! Touch us with your healing hands! Speak the words of healing over us! Restore us to health and wholeness!
Ye have come to the aid of mortals since the beginning of time. Ye have not abandoned us; ye have not forgotten us. Ye remain our constant friends and our faithful helpers!
Accept our offering, O Aśvins! Drink of the soma that we have prepared! Then go forth and heal all who are sick and suffering! Make whole what is broken! Restore what is lost!
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 VII.68
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.
ā śubhrā yātam aśvinā svaśvā giro dasrā jujuṣāṇā yuvākoḥ |
havyāni ca pratibhṛtā vītaṁ naḥ || 1 ||
pra vām andhāṁsi madyāny asthur araṁ gantaṁ haviṣo vītaye me |
tiro aryo havanāni śrutaṁ naḥ || 2 ||
pra vāṁ ratho manojavā iyarti tiro rajāṁsy aśvinā śatotiḥ |
asmabhyaṁ sūryāvasū iyānaḥ || 3 ||
ayaṁ ha yad vāṁ devayā u adrir ūrdhvo vivakti somasud yuvabhyām |
ā valgū vipro vavṛtīta havyaiḥ || 4 ||
citraṁ ha yad vām bhojanaṁ nv asti ny atraye mahiṣvantaṁ yuyotam |
yo vām omānaṁ dadhate priyaḥ san || 5 ||
uta tyad vāṁ jurate aśvinā bhūc cyavānāya pratītyaṁ havirde |
adhi yad varpa itaūti dhatthaḥ || 6 ||
uta tyam bhujyum aśvinā sakhāyo madhye jahur durevāsaḥ samudre |
nir īm parṣad arāvā yo yuvākuḥ || 7 ||
vṛkāya cij jasamānāya śaktam uta śrutaṁ śayave hūyamānā |
yāv aghnyām apinvatam apo na staryaṁ cic chakty aśvinā śacībhiḥ || 8 ||
eṣa sya kārur jarate sūktair agre budhāna uṣasāṁ sumanmā |
iṣā taṁ vardhad aghnyā payobhir yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 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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