| Ashvins | |
|---|---|
Gods of Health and Medicine | |
 | |
| Other names | Ashvini Kumaras, Ashveen, Ashvinau, Nasatya, Dasra |
| Affiliation | Devas |
| Texts | Rigveda, Mahabharata, Puranas |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | |
| Siblings | Revanta, Yami, Yama, Shraddhadeva Manu, Shani, Karna, Tapati and Savarni Manu |
| Consort | Sūryā[1][2] |
| Children | Nakula (son) Sahadeva (son) |
| Equivalents | |
| Greek | Dioskuri |
| Baltic | Ašvieniai, Dieva Dēli |
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| Hinduism |
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The Ashvins (Sanskrit: अश्विन्, lit. 'horse possessors', IAST: Aśvin), also known as the Ashvini Kumaras and Asvinau,[3] are Hindu twin gods associated with medicine, health, dawn, and the sciences.[4] In the Rigveda, they are described as youthful divine twin horsemen, travelling in a chariot drawn by horses that are never weary, and portrayed as guardian deities that safeguard and rescue people by aiding them in various situations.[2][5]
There are varying accounts, but Ashvins are generally mentioned as the sons of the sun god Surya and his wife Sanjna. In the epic Mahabharata, the Pandava twins Nakula and Sahadeva were the children of the Ashvins.
- ^ Kramrisch & Miller 1983, p. 171.
- ^ a b Jamison & Brereton 2014, p. 48.
- ^ Frame 2009, §1.42.
- ^ Wise, Thomas (1860). Commentary on the Hindu System of Medicine. Trübner. p. 4.
- ^ West 2007, p. 187.