Vedic Mythology c5.s1.t8.2

c5.s1.t8.2

The Aśvins are young (7, 67¹⁰), the TS. (7, 2, 7²) even describing them as the youngest of the gods. They are at the same time ancient (7, 62⁵). They are bright (7, 68¹), lords of lustre (8, 22¹⁴; 10, 93⁶), of golden brilliancy (8, 8²), and honey-hued (8, 26⁶). They possess many forms (1, 117⁹). They are beautiful (6, 62⁵. 63¹) and wear lotus-garlands (10, 184²; AV. 3, 22⁴; ŚB. 4, 1, 5¹⁶). They are agile (6, 63⁵), fleet as thought (8, 22¹⁶), or as an eagle (5, 78⁴). They are strong (10, 24⁴), very mighty (6, 62⁵), and are several times called 'red'¹ (*rudrā*, 5, 75³ &c.). They possess profound wisdom (8, 8²) and occult power (6, 63⁵; 10, 93⁷). The two most distinctive and frequent epithets of the Aśvins are *dasra*, 'wondrous', which is almost entirely limited to them, and *nāsatya*, which is generally explained to mean 'not untrue' (*na-asatya*), but other etymologies², such as 'the savers' have been proposed. The latter word occurs as the name of a demon in the Avesta³, which, however, sheds no further light on it. These two epithets in later times became the separate proper names of the Aśvins⁴. The attribute *rudravartanī* 'having a red path'⁵ is peculiar to them, and they are the only gods called 'golden-pathed' (*hiraṇyavartanī*), an epithet otherwise only used (twice) of rivers.⁶