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 · 120 of 1027

Mandala 1: HYMN CXX. Aśvins.

1.AŚVINS, what praise may win your grace? Who may be pleasing to you both? How shall the ignorant worship you?

2.Here let the ignorant ask the means of you who know—for none beside you knoweth aught— Not of a spiritless mortal man.

3.Such as ye: are, all-wise, we call you. Ye wise, declare to us this day accepted prayer. Loving you well your servant lauds you.

4.Simply, ye Mighty Ones, I ask the Gods of that wondrous oblation hallowed by the mystic word. Save us from what is stronger, fiercer than ourselves.

5.Forth go the hymn that shone in Ghoṣā Bhṛgu’s like, the song wherewith the son of Pajra worships you, Like some wise minister.

6.Hear ye the song of him who hastens speedily. O Aśvins, I am he who sang your praise. Hither, ye Lords of Splendour, hither turn your eyes.

7.For ye were ever nigh to deal forth ample wealth, to give the wealth that ye had gathered up. As such, ye Vasus, guard us well, and keep us safely from the wicked wolf.

8.Give us not up to any man who hateth us, nor let our milch-cows stray, whose udders give us food, Far from our homes without their calves.

9.May they who love you gain you for their Friends. Prepare ye us for opulence with strengthening food, Prepare us for the food that floweth from our cows

10.I have obtained the horseless car of Aśvins rich in sacrifice, And I am well content therewith.

11.May it convey me evermore: may the light chariot pass from men To men unto the Soma draught.

12.It holdeth slumber in contempt. and the rich who enjoyeth not: Both vanish quickly and are lost.

Asked of Guide

Why does this hymn ask the Aśvins for cows, wealth and a horseless chariot?

The hymn portrays the Aśvins as bringers of domestic prosperity and sacred conveyance: they grant milch-cows, food, and “the horseless car of Aśvins rich in sacrifice,” symbols of material blessing and ritual reward that secure a household’s survival and status. The petition ties everyday needs—milk, cattle, protection from enemies—to divine favor, making worship a practical claim for continued livelihood and safety.

Asking for a horseless chariot that “convey me evermore…unto the Soma draught” links earthly blessing to ritual participation and immortality through sacrificial life; the chariot is a vehicle of access to the gods and sacred sustenance. This theme repeats in other Vedic hymns, and mirrors the domestic-ritual nexus found in the Gṛhya and the later Upaniṣads, where ritual means sustain both social order and spiritual continuity.

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.