2-Methyl-5-nitro-1H-benzimidazol-6-amine dihydrate.

The title benzimidazole mol-ecule, C(8)H(8)N(4)O(2)·2H(2)O, is planar with a maximum deviation of 0.079†(2)†à (for one of the O atoms in the nitro group). It crystallized as a dihydrate and inter-molecular O-H⋯O and N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the uncoordinated water mol-ecules, and the nitro and amine groups, respectively. In the crystal, N-H⋯O, O-H⋯N, O-H⋯O and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules to form a three-dimensional network. A π-π contact between the benzene rings, [centroid-centroid distance = 3.588†(1)†à ] may further stabilize the crystal structure.