Rig Veda · 431 of 1027
Mandala 5: HYMN LXXVII. Aśvins.
1.FIRST worship those who come at early morning: let the Twain drink before the giftless niggard. The Aśvins claim the sacrifice at daybreak: the sages yielding the first share extol them.
2.Worship at dawn and instigate the Aśvins: nor is the worshipper at eve rejected. Besides ourselves another craves and worships: each first in worship is most highly favoured.
3.Covered with gold, meath-tinted, dropping fatness, your chariot with its freight of food comes hither, Swift as thought, Aśvins, rapid as the tempest, wherewith ye travel over all obstructions.
4.He who hath served most often the Nāsatyas, and gives the sweetest food at distribution, Furthers with his own holy works his offspring, and ever passes those whose flames ascend not.
5.May we obtain the Aśvins’ newest favour, and gain their health-bestowing happy guidance. Bring riches hither unto us, and heroes, and all felicity and joy, Immortals!
Asked of Guide
Why does this hymn urge worship of the Aśvins specifically at dawn?
The hymn says the Aśvins “claim the sacrifice at daybreak” and links dawn worship to receiving the “first share” and highest favour; morning offerings mark priority in the ritual economy and invite their swift, beneficent arrival. Verses describe their chariot “covered with gold…dropping fatness” and “swift as thought,” tying dawn service to immediate, health-bestowing gifts — riches, heroes, felicity.
This emphasis matches other Vedic texts that associate liminal times with divine accessibility; see Rig Veda Mandala 1 and hymns to Agni where the first offering secures divine attention and blessing. The practice frames ritual timing as the means by which worshippers obtain the Aśvins’ guidance and prosperity.
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