✶Gnosis
← Contents
Theme
0034 / 1027

Listen

Dhammapada · narration sample

A one-minute narration sample. Every book in the library is narrated end to end — hear the rest in the app.

Rig Veda · 34 of 1027

Mandala 1: HYMN XXXIV. Aśvins.

1.Ye who observe this day be with us even thrice: far-stretching is you bounty, Aśvins and your course. To you, as to a cloak in winter, we cleave close: you are to be drawn nigh unto us by the wise.

2.Three are the fellies in your honey-bearing car, that travels after Soma’s loved one, as all know. Three are the pillars set upon it for support: thrice journey ye by night, O Aśvins, thrice by day.

3.Thrice in the self-same day, ye Gods who banish want, sprinkle ye thrice to-day our sacrifice with meath; And thrice vouchsafe us store of food with plenteous strength, at evening, O ye Aśvins, and at break of day.

4.Thrice come ye to our home, thrice to the righteous folk, thrice triply aid the man who well deserves your help. Thrice, O ye Aśvins, bring us what shall make us glad; thrice send us store of food as nevermore to fail.

5.Thrice, O ye Aśvins, bring to us abundant wealth: thrice in the Gods’ assembly, thrice assist our thoughts. Thrice, grant ye us prosperity, thrice grant us fame; for the Sun’s daughter hath mounted your three-wheeled car.

6.Thrice, Aśvins, grant to us the heavenly medicines, thrice those of earth and thrice those that the waters hold, Favour and health and strength bestow upon my son; triple protection, Lords of Splendour, grant to him.

7.Thrice are ye to be worshipped day by day by us: thrice, O ye Aśvins, ye travel around the earth. Car-borne from far away, O ye Nāsatyas, come, like vital air to bodies, come ye to the three.

8.Thrice, O ye Aśvins, with the Seven Mother Streams; three are the jars, the triple offering is prepared. Three are the worlds, and moving on above the sky ye guard the firm-set vault of heaven through days and nights.

9.Where are the three wheels of your triple chariot, where are the three seats thereto firmly fastened? When will ye yoke the mighty ass that draws it, to bring you to our sacrifice. Nāsatyas?

10.Nāsatyas, come: the sacred gift is offered up; drink the sweet juice with lips that know the sweetness well. Savitar sends, before the dawn of day, your car, fraught with oil, various-coloured, to our sacrifice.

11.Come, O Nāsatyas, with the thrice-eleven Gods; come, O ye Aśvins, to the drinking of the meath. Make long our days of life, and wipe out all our sins: ward off our enemies; be with us evermore.

12.Borne in your triple car, O Aśvins, bring us present prosperity with noble offspring. I cry to you who hear me for protection be ye our helpers where men win the booty.

Asked of Guide

Why do the Aśvins and their chariot repeat 'thrice' so often in this hymn?

The hymn insists on ‘thrice’ because the Aśvins are portrayed as triple in action and presence: three wheels, three pillars, three journeys by night and day, and triple offerings and medicines. The repetition frames them as cyclic, pervasive benefactors who bless body, home, and cosmos at multiple levels.

This thrice-form binds ritual time to cosmic order—three worlds, three mother streams, three jars—and so secures prosperity, healing, and protection for the worshipper. The pattern echoes other Vedic texts that use numeric structure to make cosmic forces reliable and ritually accessible, as in later hymns of Mandala 1.

Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.