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Not part of Riordanverse
The following article/section is from the Pandava Quintet continuity under Rick Riordan Presents and not the Riordanverse canon. |
The Ashvins (pronounced: "OSH-vins"), Nasatya ("NUSS-uht-yuh") and Dasra ("DUS-ruh"), are the twin horsemen Hindu gods who symbolize sunrise and sunset, and are considered the gods of medicine and healing.
History[]
The Ashvins were born to Surya, the Hindu god of the sun, and Saranyu, the goddess of clouds and daughter of Vishvakarman, the god of architecture. When Saranyu got tired of her husband's passionate light, she created a goddess of shadow from her shadow named Chhaya, transformed into a mare, and escaped into the forests for a life of reflection. When Surya noticed Chhaya was not his wife, he transformed into a horse, searched Uttar Kuru, and mated with Saranyu. The result was the birth of Nasatya and Dasra who had the heads of horses, as well as the god of horses, Revanta, who also became chief of the Guhyakas.[1]
When a sage named Chyavana got to a very old age, his wife, Sukanya, asked the Ashvin's to restore him to a youthful state. In return, she would tell them what they lacked to become complete gods. The Ashvins completed this task by putting herbs into a pond which Chyavana dipped in, and so Sukanya told tham that they did not drink the soma ("SO-muh"), the drink of the gods. So Nasatya and Dasra persuaded Dadhyanc, the son of the Atharvan priest, to teach them the sacrificial ceremony which involved the sacred drink. However, Indra did not want the Ashvins to drink the soma, he thought they were contaminated for spending for much time with humans. So he threatened Dadhyanc that he would cut his head off if he went through with the ceremony. The Ashvins solved this problem by creating a fake head for Dadhyanc, so when they learned about the soma Indra didn't actually cut his head off.[2]
Thanks to the boon of Kunti (the mother of Arjuna, Yudhistira, Bhima, and Karna, who was blessed with the ability to call on any god to give her a son), the Ashvins became the fathers of Nakula the Beautiful and Sahadeva the Wise, the twin Pandavas, by King Pandu’s second wife, Madri.[3]
Rick Riordan Presents[]
Pandava Quintet[]
Aru Shah and the End of Time[]
Two statues of the Ashvins glowed during the claiming ceremony of Aru Shah and Mini. Aru thought she definitely wouldn't mind being known for beauty like Nakula but was still unsure about being known for wisdom like Sahadeva. But her true spiritual father turned out to be Indra while Mini's was Dharma Raja.
Appearance[]
They’re often depicted with the heads of horses.
Abilities[]
- Vitakinesis: As gods of medicine and healing, they can heal others.
Trivia[]
- The name Ashvins derives from the Sanskrit, asva, which means "horse."
- Their Greco-Roman equivalents are Asclepius, Eos, Castor and Pollux.
- Their Eygptian equivalents are Khepri and Khnum.
References[]
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revanta
- ↑ https://www.ancient.eu/Ashvins/
- ↑ Aru Shah and the End of Time, Glossary, p. 276