Ashwini Gods

Ashvins
Gods of Shining of Sunrise and Sunset Averting Misfortune and Sickness
Ashwini Kumaras
Devanagari	अश्विन
Sanskrit transliteration	aśvinau
Parents	Saranyu and Vivasvan
Mount	Golden Chariot
Roman equivalent	Dioscuri

The Ashvins or Ashwini Kumaras (Sanskrit: अश्विन, aśvin-, dual aśvinau), in Hindu mythology, are two Vedic gods, divine twin horsemen in the Rigveda, sons of Saranyu, a goddess of the clouds and wife of Surya in his form as Vivasvant. They symbolise 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 devas of Ayurvedic medicine. They are represented as humans with the heads of horses. In the epic Mahabharata, King Pandu's wife Madri is granted a son by each Ashvin and bears the twins Nakula and Sahadeva who, along with the sons of Kunti, are known as the Pandavas. Their marriage is an example of polyandry in the Rigvedic period.

They are also called Nasatya (dual nāsatyau "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 nāsatya is often incorrectly analysed as na+asatya "not untrue".

The Ashvins are derived from the Proto-Indo-European horse twins. Their cognates in other Indo-European mythologies include the Baltic Ašvieniai, the Greek Castor and Polydeuces, the Roman Castor and Pollux, the English Hengist and Horsa, and the Welsh Bran and Manawydan.

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