Rig Veda · 721 of 1027
Mandala 9: HYMN IX. Aśvins.
1.ENDOWED, O Gods, with your primeval wisdom, come quickly with your chariot, O ye Holy. Come with your mighty powers, O ye Nāsatyas; come hither, drink ye this the third libation.
2.The truthful Deities, the Three-and-Thirty, saw you approach before the Ever-Truthful. Accepting this our worship and libation, O Aśvins bright with fire, drink ye the Soma.
3.Aśvins, that work of yours deserves our wonder,—the Bull of heaven and earth and air’s mid region; Yea, and your thousand promises in battle, -to all of these come near and drink beside us.
4.Here is your portion laid for you, ye Holy: come to these songs of ours, O ye Nāsatyas. Drink among us the Soma full of sweetness, and with your powers assist the man who worships.
Asked of Guide
Why do the worshippers call the Aśvins 'drink ye the Soma' repeatedly?
The hymn asks the Aśvins to share the Soma because the gods’ presence and power are enacted through ritual consumption: “drink ye the Soma” invites the twin physicians to accept the libation and thereby participate in the worship. The repeated summons links their arrival with concrete benefits—assistance in battle, healing and a portion laid out for them—so their drinking is the ritual moment that activates those favors.
Calling them “endowed… with your primeval wisdom” and naming them among the “Three-and-Thirty” frames the Aśvins as both sacred guests and potent agents; when they drink, the community’s praise and the gods’ powers meet. This hymn performs what Mircea Eliade describes about sacrificial reciprocity in The Sacred and the Profane: gods receive offerings and in return grant protection and blessings.
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