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Rig Veda · 587 of 1027
Mandala 7: HYMN LXXI. Aśvins.
1.THE Night retireth from the Dawn her Sister; the Dark one yieldeth to the Red her pathway. Let us invoke you rich in steeds and cattle - by day and night keep far from us the arrow.
2.Bearing rich treasure in your car, O Aśvins, come to the mortal who presents oblation. Keep at a distance penury and sickness; Lovers of Sweetness, day and night preserve us.
3.May your strong horses, seeking bliss, bring hither your chariot at the earliest flush of morning. With coursers yoked by Law drive hither, Aśvins, your car whose reins are light, laden with treasure.
4.The chariot, Princes, that conveys you, moving at daylight, triple-seated, fraught with riches, Even with this come unto us, Nāsatyas, that laden with all food it may approach us.
5.Ye freed Cyavāna from old age and weakness: ye brought the courser fleet of food to Pedu. Ye rescued Atri from distress and darkness, and loosed for Jāhuṣa the bonds that bound him.
6.This is the thought, this is the song, O Aśvins: accept this hymn of ours, ye Steers, With favour. May these our prayers addressed to you come nigh you. Preserve us evermore, ye Gods, with blessings.
Asked of Guide
Why do the Aśvins appear as chariot-riders who heal and restore youth in this hymn?
The hymn presents the Aśvins as swift, dawn-linked divine physicians whose chariot arrives with “rich treasure” and food to remove penury, sickness, weakness, and old age. Lines 5–6 recount concrete rescues—Cyavāna, Atri, Jāhuṣa—so their identity here is defined by saving mortals through speed, bounty, and ritually-invoked favor.
Calling them “Lovers of Sweetness” and “Nāsatyas” ties their benevolence to the dawn and to paired twins who move by Law; the chariot imagery stresses movement from darkness into light and the deliverance that follows. This hymn echoes themes in later Puranic tales where the Aśvins restore youth, and it matches what’s emphasized in the Rig Veda book of the Aśvins: healing, timely arrival, and gift-bestowal.
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