Hymn to Apam Napat, Child of the Waters
Rigveda II.35 is a sukta (hymn of praise) from Mandala 2 of the Rigveda, one of the 1,028 hymns organized within the ten books of the oldest Veda. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in Vedic Sanskrit and preserved through oral transmission across millennia.
This is a Good Works Translation produced for the Good Works Library from the Sanskrit of the Sakala recension.
1. Eager for strength, I have sent forth toward him a well-formed speech; may the river-god take pleasure in my songs. Apam Napat, the swift-impeller — surely he will make them beautiful, for he will delight in them.
2. Let us speak well to him this hymn fashioned from the heart — may he indeed perceive it. Apam Napat, by the greatness of his lordly power, has begotten all the worlds of the lord.
3. Some waters flow together, others flow near; the rivers fill the common basin. Around him, the bright one, the shining one, the bright waters have taken their stand — around Apam Napat.
4. Around him, the youth, go the young, unsmiling waters, cleansing themselves as they circle. With his bright, skillful flames he shines richly for us — fuel-less, clothed in ghee, within the waters.
5. Three women, goddesses, wish to offer food to him, the unshakeable god. As if made ready, he has spread himself into the waters; he drinks the first milk of those who bore him.
6. Here is the birth of the horse, and his heavenly light — guard our patrons from malice, from harm, from contagion. In the unbaked strongholds, beyond, imperishable — let neither ill will nor falsehoods reach and destroy.
7. In his own house, whose milk-cow yields well, has swelled with her own strength and eats good food — he, Apam Napat, growing vigorous within the waters, shines forth to give wealth to the one who worships.
8. He who within the waters shines widely with bright, divine, unceasing, truthful light — the other beings are but his offshoots; from him are born, together with their offspring, the plants.
9. Apam Napat has indeed taken his seat in the lap of the slanting waters, standing upright, clothed in lightning. Bearing his highest greatness, the golden-hued, mighty waters move around him.
10. Golden in form, golden to behold, is Apam Napat — he indeed is golden-colored. Having taken his seat at his golden source, the golden-giving waters give him food.
11. That is his face, and his lovely name — the hidden glory of the Child of the Waters grows. Whom the young waters thus kindle together; golden-hued ghee is his food.
12. Let us worship him with sacrifices, homage, and oblations — nearest friend among many. I cleanse his surface, I make offering with portions, I present him food, I praise him all around with hymns.
13. He, the bull, begot in them an embryo; he, as an infant, suckles, and they lick him. He, Apam Napat, of unfading hue, has entered here as if with another's body.
14. Standing in this highest place, shining every day with undimmed radiance — the waters, bearing ghee as food for the Child, the mighty ones themselves fly around him, robed.
15. I have granted, O Agni, good dwelling to the people, and I have offered the bounteous ones a well-wrought hymn. May all that the gods favor be auspicious; rich in valiant men, may we speak boldly at the assembly.
Translator's note: Verse 6 is one of the most syntactically compressed and disputed passages in the hymn — "the birth of the horse," "unbaked strongholds," and the string of privative nouns (imperishable, ill will, falsehoods) are rendered conservatively, following the words as they stand rather than smoothing them into a single clear image. Verse 15 shifts to address Agni by name rather than Apam Napat; this is the hymn's traditional closing formula and reflects the identification of Apam Napat as a hidden form of Agni within the waters, rather than a scribal inconsistency.
Colophon
Rigveda II.35 is drawn from the Sakala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation rendered verse by verse from the Sanskrit text printed below. Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation.
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Source Text: ṛgveda II.35
Sanskrit source text from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
upem asṛkṣi vājayur vacasyāṁ cano dadhīta nādyo giro me |
apāṁ napād āśuhemā kuvit sa supeśasas karati joṣiṣad dhi || 1 ||
imaṁ sv asmai hṛda ā sutaṣṭam mantraṁ vocema kuvid asya vedat |
apāṁ napād asuryasya mahnā viśvāny aryo bhuvanā jajāna || 2 ||
sam anyā yanty upa yanty anyāḥ samānam ūrvaṁ nadyaḥ pṛṇanti |
tam ū śuciṁ śucayo dīdivāṁsam apāṁ napātam pari tasthur āpaḥ || 3 ||
tam asmerā yuvatayo yuvānam marmṛjyamānāḥ pari yanti āpaḥ |
sa śukrebhiḥ śikvabhī revad asme dīdāyānidhmo ghṛtanirṇig apsu || 4 ||
asmai tisro avyathyāya nārīr devāya devīr didhiṣanty annam |
kṛtā ivopa hi prasarsre apsu sa pīyūṣaṁ dhayati pūrvasūnām || 5 ||
aśvasyātra janimāsya ca svar druho riṣaḥ sampṛcaḥ pāhi sūrīn |
āmāsu pūrṣu paro apramṛṣyaṁ nārātayo vi naśan nānṛtāni || 6 ||
sva ā dame sudughā yasya dhenuḥ svadhām pīpāya subhv annam atti |
so apāṁ napād ūrjayann apsv a1ntar vasudeyāya vidhate vi bhāti || 7 ||
yo apsv ā śucinā daivyena ṛtāvājasra urviyā vibhāti |
vayā id anyā bhuvanāny asya pra jāyante vīrudhaś ca prajābhiḥ || 8 ||
apāṁ napād ā hy asthād upasthaṁ jihmānām ūrdhvo vidyutaṁ vasānaḥ |
tasya jyeṣṭham mahimānaṁ vahantīr hiraṇyavarṇāḥ pari yanti yahvīḥ || 9 ||
hiraṇyarūpaḥ sa hiraṇyasaṁdṛg apāṁ napāt sed u hiraṇyavarṇaḥ |
hiraṇyayāt pari yoner niṣadyā hiraṇyadā dadaty annam asmai || 10 ||
tad asyānīkam uta cāru nāmāpīcyaṁ vardhate naptur apām |
yam indhate yuvatayaḥ sam itthā hiraṇyavarṇaṁ ghṛtam annam asya || 11 ||
asmai bahūnām avamāya sakhye yajñair vidhema namasā havirbhiḥ |
saṁ sānu mārjmi didhiṣāmi bilmair dadhāmy annaiḥ pari vanda ṛgbhiḥ || 12 ||
sa īṁ vṛṣājanayat tāsu garbhaṁ sa īṁ śiśur dhayati taṁ rihanti |
so apāṁ napād anabhimlātavarṇo 'nyasyeveha tanvā viveṣa || 13 ||
asmin pade parame tasthivāṁsam adhvasmabhir viśvahā dīdivāṁsam |
āpo naptre ghṛtam annaṁ vahantīḥ svayam atkaiḥ pari dīyanti yahvīḥ || 14 ||
ayāṁsam agne sukṣitiṁ janāyāyāṁsam u maghavadbhyaḥ suvṛktim |
viśvaṁ tad bhadraṁ yad avanti devā bṛhad vadema vidathe suvīrāḥ || 15 ||
Source Colophon
Sanskrit text of the Rigveda, Sakala recension. The standard scholarly edition is the Bombay Oriental (Vishva Bandhu, 5 vols., 1963–66). IAST transliteration available from GRETIL (Gottingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages) and Vedaweb (University of Cologne). Both sources are open access. IAST transliteration from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).