Hymn to the Aśvins
Rigveda VII.72 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 who are honored among all the gods! Ye who are beloved by mortals and immortals alike!
The mortals call upon you in their time of need. The gods welcome you into their assemblies. The very sun doth honor you, for ye come before him and prepare his way!
Ye are kind and merciful; ye are just and fair. Ye are swift to help those who call upon you. Ye never abandon those who trust in you.
Come now to our sacrifice! Drink of the soma that we have prepared! Rest yourselves after your swift journey across the heavens! Enjoy the pleasures of our feast!
Then go forth renewed and refreshed! Continue your eternal work of healing and helping! Make whole what is broken! Restore what is lost! Bring joy to all who are sad!
We are grateful to you, O Aśvins! We honor you; we praise you; we worship you! Accept our offering and grant us your blessings!
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.72
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 gomatā nāsatyā rathenāśvāvatā puruścandreṇa yātam |
abhi vāṁ viśvā niyutaḥ sacante spārhayā śriyā tanvā śubhānā || 1 ||
ā no devebhir upa yātam arvāk sajoṣasā nāsatyā rathena |
yuvor hi naḥ sakhyā pitryāṇi samāno bandhur uta tasya vittam || 2 ||
ud u stomāso aśvinor abudhrañ jāmi brahmāṇy uṣasaś ca devīḥ |
āvivāsan rodasī dhiṣṇyeme acchā vipro nāsatyā vivakti || 3 ||
vi ced ucchanty aśvinā uṣāsaḥ pra vām brahmāṇi kāravo bharante |
ūrdhvam bhānuṁ savitā devo aśred bṛhad agnayaḥ samidhā jarante || 4 ||
ā paścātān nāsatyā purastād āśvinā yātam adharād udaktāt |
ā viśvataḥ pāñcajanyena rāyā yūyam pāta svastibhiḥ sadā naḥ || 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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