Hymn to the Waters
Rigveda II.35 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 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 by the New Tianmu Anglican Church from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
O Apām Napāt, Child of the Waters! O thou mysterious one, hidden in the depths, concealed in the very heart of rivers and springs. Who is thy father? What is thy origin? Thou art born of waters, yet art not water thyself. Thou art the fire that dwelleth in the waters, the sacred hidden spark, the secret conflagration.
How dost thou dwell in the ocean, which would quench all ordinary flame? How dost thou move through the clouds without perishing? What sacred nature is thine that neither water nor wind can extinguish thee? Thou art the inexplicable, the wondrous one, the keeper of mysteries.
We see thee in the lightning that cracks the sky above the thunder-clouds. We see thee in the glow of the firefly that dances above the marsh at dusk. Thou art present in the altar-fire, yet also in the waters that flow through the sacred enclosure. Thou art both and neither, paradox and revelation.
O Son of the Waters, we kindle thy earthly counterpart in this very place. We feed the fire with butter and with sacred words. We pour the Soma at thy altar. Yet we know that the greatest fire burns within waters unseen, within the depths that no mortal eye can fathom.
Grant us thy hidden wisdom. Illumine our understanding as thou shinest in the darkness of the waters. Let us see as thou seest. Let us know the secrets thou knowest. Teach us the way of the hidden fire — that which burneth without consuming, that which giveth light and heat yet remaineth eternal and imperishable.
O Apām Napāt, mysterious child, hidden treasure, sacred flame within the waters — accept our worship. Reveal to us thy nature. Guard the hidden fires of our hearts. Let us learn the way of secret power, that is gentle yet inexorable, that is flame yet water, that is presence yet concealment.
Colophon
This hymn is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated independently from the Sanskrit. Reference translations consulted during original translation are to be documented during audit.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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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 yanty 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, Śākala recension. The standard scholarly edition is the Bombay Oriental (Vishva Bandhu, 5 vols., 1963–66). IAST transliteration available from GRETIL (Göttingen 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).
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