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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 583 of 1027

Mandala 7: HYMN LXVII. Aśvins.

1.I WITH a holy heart that brings oblation will sing forth praise to meet your car, ye Princes, Which, Much-desired! hath wakened as your envoy. I call you hither as a son his parents.

2.Brightly hath Agni shone by us enkindled: the limits even of darkness were apparent. Eastward is seen the Banner of the Morning, the Banner born to give Heaven’s Daughter glory.

3.With hymns the deft priest is about you, Aśvins, the eloquent priest attends you now, Nāsatyas. Come by the paths that ye are wont to travel, on car that finds the light, laden with treasure.

4.When, suppliant for your help, Lovers of Sweetness! I seeking wealth call you to our libation, Hitherward let your vigorous horses bear you: drink ye with us the well-pressed Soma juices.

5.Bring forward, Aśvins, Gods, to its fulfilment my never-wearied prayer that asks for riches. Vouchsafe us all high spirit in the combat, and with your powers, O Lords of Power, assist us.

6.Favour us in these prayers of ours, O Aśvins. May we have genial vigour, ne’er to fail us. So may we, strong in children and descendants, go, wealthy, to the banquet that awaits you.

7.Lovers of Sweetness, we have brought this treasure to you as ’twere an envoy sent for friendship. Come unto us with spirits free from anger, in homes of men enjoying our oblation.

8.With one, the same, intention, ye swift movers, o’er the Seven Rivers hath your chariot travelled. Yoked by the Gods, your strong steeds never weary while speeding forward at the pole they bear you.

9.Exhaustless be your bounty to our princes who with their wealth incite the gift of riches, Who further friendship with their noble natures, combining wealth in kine with wealth in herses.

10.Now hear, O Youthful Twain, mine invocation: come, Aśvins, to the home where food aboundeth. Vouchsafe us wealth, do honour to our nobles. Preserve us evermore, ye Gods, with blessings.

Asked of Guide

Why does the poet call the Aśvins “Lovers of Sweetness” and ask them to bring wealth and vigor?

The poet calls the Aśvins “Lovers of Sweetness” to name their generous, healing aspect—their arrival is linked to gifts, blessing and the drinking of Soma, so sweetness equals reward and conviviality. The hymn repeatedly asks them to come “laden with treasure,” to grant offspring, strength and success in battle, tying divine favor to social prosperity and ritual abundance.

This hymn treats the Aśvins as swift benefactors whose chariot travels “o’er the Seven Rivers,” a phrase that emphasizes their far-reaching aid and reliability. The request for wealth and vigour follows the Vedic pattern found elsewhere in the Rig Veda where gods like Agni and the Aśvins are summoned as patrons of household prosperity and public honor, similar in tone to hymns addressed to Agni that also link sacrificial offering with divine favor.

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.