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Dhammapada · narration sample

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Rig Veda · 629 of 1027

Mandala 8: HYMN IX. Aśvins.

1.To help and favour Vatsa now, O Aśvins, come ye hitherward. Bestow on him a dwelling spacious and secure, and keep malignities away.

2.All manliness that is in heaven, with the Five Tribes, or in mid-air, Bestow, ye Aśvins, upon us.

3.Remember Kaṇva first of all among the singers, Aśvins, who Have thought upon your wondrous deeds.

4.Aśvins, for you with song of praise this hot oblation is effused, This your sweet Soma juice, ye Lords of ample wealth, through which ye think upon the foe.

5.Whatever ye have done in floods, in the tree, Wonder-Workers, and in growing plants, Therewith, O Aśvins, succour me.

6.What force, Nāsatyas, ye exert, whatever, Gods, ye tend and heal, This your own Vatsa gains not by his hymns alone: ye visit him who offers gifts.

7.Now hath the Ṛṣi splendidly thought out the Aśvins’ hymn of praise. Let the Atharvan pour the warm oblation forth, and Soma very rich in sweets.

8.Ye Aśvins, now ascend your car that lightly rolls upon its way. May these my praises make you speed hitherward like a cloud of heaven.

9.When, O Nāsatyas, we this day make you speed hither with our hymns, Or, Aśvins, with our songs of praise, remember Kanya specially.

10.As erst Kakṣīvān and the Ṛṣi Vyaśva, as erst Dīrghatamas invoked your presence, Or, in the sacrificial chambers, Vainya Pṛthi, so be ye mindful of us here, O Aśvins.

11.Come as home-guardians, saving us from foemen, guarding our living creatures and our bodies, Come to the house to give us seed and offspring,

12.Whether with Indra ye be faring, Aśvins, or resting in one dwelling-place with Vāyu, In concord with the Ṛbhus or Ādityas, or standing still in Viṣṇu’s striding-places.

13.When I, O Aśvins, call on you to-day that I may gather strength, Or as all-conquering might in war, be that the Aśvins’ noblest grace.

14.Now come, ye Aśvins, hitherward: here are oblations set for you; These Soma-draughts to aid Yadu and Turvaśa, these offered you mid Kaniva’s Sons.

15.Whatever healing balm is yours, Nisatyas, near or far away, Therewith, great Sages, grant a home to Vatsa and to Vimada.

16.Together with the Goddess, with the Aśvins’ Speech have I awoke. Thou, Goddess, hast disclosed the hymn, and holy gift from mortal men.

17.Awake the Aśvins, Goddess Dawn! Up Mighty Lady of sweet strains! Rise, straightway, priest of sacrifice! High glory to the gladdening draught!

18.Thou, Dawn, approaching with thy light shinest together with the Sun, And to this man-protecting home the chariot ofthe Aśvins comes.

19.When yellow stalks give forth the juice, as cows from udders pour their milk, And voices sound the song of praise, the Aśvins’ worshippers show first.

20.Forward for glory and for strength, protection that shall conquer men, And power and skill, most sapient Ones!

21.When Aśvins, worthy of our lauds, ye seat you in the father’s house. With wisdom or the bliss ye bring.

Asked of Guide

Why do the Aśvins get invoked to give dwellings, offspring, and healing in this hymn?

The hymn treats the Aśvins as swift divine physicians and household guardians whose presence secures prosperity: verses ask them to “bestow on him a dwelling spacious and secure,” to “give us seed and offspring,” and to bring “whatever healing balm is yours.” The Ṛṣi frames their power broadly—healing floods, plants, animals, warlike strength—and so calls them for concrete needs of a patron named Vatsa.

The ritual context makes those requests effective: repeated soma-offerings, songs, and naming of earlier seers (Kaṇva, Kakṣīvān, Dīrghatamas) invoke continuity and obligation, as in other Rigveda hymns where gods are summoned by praise. This practice echoes what Max Müller and later translators note about Vedic hymns: gods are addressed for specific favors through sacrificial exchange and remembered relationships.

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.