**A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - **The Ashvins are the twin Vedic gods of medicine and healing. They are believed to be associated with the predawn light appearing in the sky before the dawn. Travelling in a golden chariot, they bring treasures to people and prevent misfortune and sickness.
The Ashvins often represent a symbol of the shining sunrise and sunset.
Ashwini Kumaras – the Ashvins, gods of medicine and healing. Image credit: Wikipedia
The Ashvins (or Ashwini Kumaras) are brothers; Nasatya (elder ashvin) is the God of Health and his younger brother, Dasra, is the God of Medicine.
It is known that their father is sun-god Surya (in his form as Vivasvant (“the luminous one”) and their mother is Saranyu, a goddess of the clouds. Saranyu, whose name means "fleet and quick”, has been described as "the swift-speeding storm cloud". She is also the mother of Yami, an incarnation of Saraswati in the Vedas and Yama, the lord of death and underworld.
In Hindu sacred texts, the Ashvins are mentioned 376 times in the Rigveda’ collection of hymns and 57 hymns are dedicated to them.
Although, they do not play a significant role in later epics and myths, the Ashvins are omnipresent figures in Hindu pantheon of gods, and are described in Mahabharata, one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and the Puranas.
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They are usually depicted as young and beautiful males and sometimes they are portrayed with the heads of horses.
Most commonly the Ashvins are celebrated as the physicians of the gods and healers using Ayurvedic medicine. The Ashvin-twins are students of Daksa Prajapati ("lord of creatures") or ("lord of all born beings") and later teachers of Indra.
In the Rigveda, we find the description of the amputation of legs and the fitting with artificial limbs of Vishpala (Vispala), a warrior queen mentioned in the Rig Veda. There is also accounts of the joining of the limbs of Atri, a Vedic sage, who composed a large number of hymns to Agni, Indra and other Vedic deities of Hinduism.
The Twins also help Kanva, an ancient Hindu rishi, several times. He was blind but they managed to restore his eyesight and helped many others. According to Charata Samhita (also Caraka Samhita), a Sanskrit text on Ayurveda, the Ashvin-twins used to revive from unconsciousness or apparent death.
In Hindu epic Mahabharata, the divine Ashvins became the fathers of Nakula and Sahadeva, the two of the five Pandavas, acknowledged sons of a warrior king Pandu and his second wife, Mardi.
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References:
Oldenberg Hermann, The Religion of the Veda
Sarma, Krishna. Source Book of Hindu Mythology
Roshani Chokshi, Aru Shah and the End of Time
Roshen Dalal, The Vedas: An Introduction to Hinduism’s Sacred Texts