Hymn to the Aśvins
Rigveda VII.71 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 are riding forth now as the first light breaks in the East! The dawn cometh with you; she rideth in your chariot! The sky turneth golden; the birds begin to sing!
Ye bring with you the gift of a new day! The night hath passed; the darkness hath fled. All things awaken; all things rejoice! The young day stretcheth forth with hope and promise!
O twin horsemen of the dawn! Ye come first before the sun himself! Ye prepare the way for the golden orb! Ye sweep aside all darkness and all coldness!
The maiden sleepeth no more; she riseth from her bed! The servant stirs himself to his labor! The merchant openeth his shop! The farmer goeth forth to his fields! All because of you, O swift ones!
Ye are the heralds of the sun! Ye are the bringers of light! Ye are the awakeners of the world!
Accept our hymn of praise, O Aśvins! Come to us with the dawn! Bring us healing, prosperity, and joy! Grant us all that we ask!
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.71
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.
apa svasur uṣaso nag jihīte riṇakti kṛṣṇīr aruṣāya panthām |
aśvāmaghā gomaghā vāṁ huvema divā naktaṁ śarum asmad yuyotam || 1 ||
upāyātaṁ dāśuṣe martyāya rathena vāmam aśvinā vahantā |
yuyutam asmad anirām amīvāṁ divā naktam mādhvī trāsīthāṁ naḥ || 2 ||
ā vāṁ ratham avamasyāṁ vyuṣṭau sumnāyavo vṛṣaṇo vartayantu |
syūmagabhastim ṛtayugbhir aśvair āśvinā vasumantaṁ vahethām || 3 ||
yo vāṁ ratho nṛpatī asti voḻhā trivandhuro vasumām̐ usrayāmā |
ā na enā nāsatyopa yātam abhi yad vāṁ viśvapsnyo jigāti || 4 ||
yuvaṁ cyavānaṁ jaraso 'mumuktaṁ ni pedava ūhathur āśum aśvam |
nir aṁhasas tamasaḥ spartam atriṁ ni jāhuṣaṁ śithire dhātam antaḥ || 5 ||
iyam manīṣā iyam aśvinā gīr imāṁ suvṛktiṁ vṛṣaṇā juṣethām |
imā brahmāṇi yuvayūny agman yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 6 ||
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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