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The Ashvins ( "possessor of horses", "horse tamer", "cavalier", dual ) or Ashwini Kumaras are divine twin horsemen
Horsemen

Horsemen may refer to:*Cavalry*Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse*Four Horsemen *Royal Canadian Mounted Police...
 in the Rigveda
Rigveda

The Rigveda is an ancient Indian subcontinent sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns dedicated to the Rigvedic deities . It is counted among the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas....
, sons of Saranya, a goddess of the clouds and wife of either Surya
Surya

In Hinduism, Surya is the chief solar deity, one of the Adityas, son of Kasyapa and one of his wives Aditi, of Indra, or of Dyaus Pitar . The term "Surya" also refers to the Sun, in general....
 in his form as Vivasvat. They are Vedic gods
Rigvedic deities

There are 1028 hymns in the Rigveda, most of them dedicated to specific deity.Indra, a heroic god, slayer of Vrtra and destroyer of the Vala, liberator of the cows and the rivers; Agni the sacrificial fire and messenger of the gods; and Soma the ritual drink dedicated to Indra are the most prominent deities....
 symbolising the shining of sunrise and sunset, appearing in the sky before the dawn in a golden chariot, bringing treasures to men and averting misfortune and sickness.

They are the doctors of gods and are deva
Deva (Hinduism)

Deva is the Sanskrit word for "god, deity". It can be variously interpreted as a god, spirit, demi-god, Celestial, deity or any supernatural being of high excellence....
s of Ayurvedic medicine.






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The Ashvins ( "possessor of horses", "horse tamer", "cavalier", dual ) or Ashwini Kumaras are divine twin horsemen
Horsemen

Horsemen may refer to:*Cavalry*Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse*Four Horsemen *Royal Canadian Mounted Police...
 in the Rigveda
Rigveda

The Rigveda is an ancient Indian subcontinent sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns dedicated to the Rigvedic deities . It is counted among the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas....
, sons of Saranya, a goddess of the clouds and wife of either Surya
Surya

In Hinduism, Surya is the chief solar deity, one of the Adityas, son of Kasyapa and one of his wives Aditi, of Indra, or of Dyaus Pitar . The term "Surya" also refers to the Sun, in general....
 in his form as Vivasvat. They are Vedic gods
Rigvedic deities

There are 1028 hymns in the Rigveda, most of them dedicated to specific deity.Indra, a heroic god, slayer of Vrtra and destroyer of the Vala, liberator of the cows and the rivers; Agni the sacrificial fire and messenger of the gods; and Soma the ritual drink dedicated to Indra are the most prominent deities....
 symbolising the shining of sunrise and sunset, appearing in the sky before the dawn in a golden chariot, bringing treasures to men and averting misfortune and sickness.

They are the doctors of gods and are deva
Deva (Hinduism)

Deva is the Sanskrit word for "god, deity". It can be variously interpreted as a god, spirit, demi-god, Celestial, deity or any supernatural being of high excellence....
s of Ayurvedic medicine. They are called Nasatya (dual "kind, helpful" in the Rigveda; later, Nasatya is the name of one twin, while the other is called Dasra ("enlightened giving"). By popular etymology, the name was analysed as na+asatya "not untrue"="true".

In the epic Mahabharata
Mahabharata

The is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetrys of History of India, the other being the '. The epic is part of the Hindu itihasa , and forms an important part of Hindu mythology....
, King Pandu's wife Madri
Madri

In the Mahabharata epic, Madri was a princess of the Madra kingdom and the second wife of Pandu.On his way to Hastinapur, King Pandu encountered the army of Shalya, King of Madra....
 is granted a son by each Ashvin God and bears the twins Nakula
Nakula

Nakula was one of the five Pandava brothers according to the epic Mahabharata. He was one of the twin sons of Madri, who invoked Ashvins using a mantra shared by Kunti for a son....
 and Sahadeva
Sahadeva

Sahadeva was one of the five Pandava brothers according to the epic Mahabharata. He was one of the twin sons of Madri, who invoked Ashvins using a mantra shared by Kunti for a son....
 who, along with the sons of Kunti, are known as the Pandavas.

To each one of them is assigned the number 7
7 (number)

7 is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8 . It is the smallest positive integer to be spoken with two syllables when pronounced in English....
 and to the pair the number 14
14 (number)

14 is the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 ....
.

Ashvini
Ashvini

Ashvini is the name of a Nakshatra . It is ruled by the south node Ketu . Personified, Ashvini is the wife of the Ashvins , later also considered their mother....
 is the name of an asterism in Indian astronomy, later identified with the mother of the Ashvins. This asterism forms the first of the 27 asterisms that form the zodiac in Indian astronomy. This star is identified as Hamal, the brightest star in the constellation of Aries (Alpha Arietis
Alpha Arietis

| name = Bayer designation}}Alpha Arietis , which also has the traditional names Hamal and El Nath, is the brightest star in the constellation Aries ....
)

The Ashvins are mentioned 376 times in the Rigveda
Rigveda

The Rigveda is an ancient Indian subcontinent sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns dedicated to the Rigvedic deities . It is counted among the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas....
, with 57 hymns specifically dedicated to them: 1.3, 1.22, 1.34, 1.46-47, 1.112, 1.116-120 (c.f. Vishpala
Vishpala

Vishpala is a woman mentioned in the Rigveda . The name is likely from ' "settlement, village" and ' "strong", meaning something like "protecting the settlement"....
), 1.157-158, 1.180-184, 2.20, 3.58, 4.43-45, 5.73-78, 6.62-63, 7.67-74 8.5, 8.8-10, 8.22, 8.26, 8.35, 8.57, 8.73, 8.85-87 10.24, 10.39-41, 10.143.

See also

  • Divine twins
    Divine twins

    The Divine twins are a mytheme of Proto-Indo-European mythology.*the Greek Dioscuri*the Vedic Ashvins*the Lithuanian A?vieniai*the Latvian Dieva deli...
  • Ashva
    Ashva

    Asva? is one of the significant animals finding references in several Hindu scriptures. The corresponding Avestan language term is aspa. The word is cognate to Latin Equus , Greek ?pp?? , Germanic *ehwaz and Baltic *a?va all from PIE *hek'wos....
  • Ašvieniai
    Ašvieniai

    A?vieniai in Lithuanian mythology are divine twins identical to Latvian mythology Dieva deli and direct counterparts of Vedic mythology Asvins....