Bhashya
स एष संवत्सरः— योऽयं त्र्यन्नात्मा प्रजापतिःप्रकृतः, स एष संवत्सरात्मना विशेषतो निर्दिश्यते ।षोड-शकलः षोडश कला अवयवा अस्य सोऽयं षोडशकलःसंवत्सरः संवत्सरात्मा कालरूपः ।तस्य च कालात्मनःप्रजापतेः रात्रय एव अहोरात्राणि- तिथय इत्यर्थः- पञ्च-दश कलाः ।ध्रुवैव नित्यैव व्यवस्थिता अस्य प्रजापतेःषोडशी षोडशानां पूरणी कला ।रात्रिभिरेव तिथिभिःकलोक्ताभिः आपूर्यते च अपक्षीयते च प्रतिपदाद्याभिर्हिचन्द्रमाः प्रजापतिः शुक्लपक्ष आपूर्यते कलाभिरुपचीयमाना-भिर्वर्धते यावत्सम्पूर्णमण्डलः पौर्णमास्याम् ; ताभिरेवापची-यमानाभिः कलाभिरपक्षीयते कृष्णपक्षे यावद्ध्रुवैका कलाव्यवस्थिता अमावास्यायाम् ।स प्रजापतिः कालात्मा अमा-वास्याम् अमावास्यायाम् रात्रिं रात्रौ या व्यवस्थिता ध्रुवा कलोक्ता एतया षोडश्या कलया सर्वमिदं प्राणभृत् प्राणि-जातम् अनुप्रविश्य- यदपः पिबति यच्चौषधीरश्नाति तत्स-र्वमेव ओषध्यात्मना सर्वं व्याप्य- अमावास्यां रात्रिंमव-स्थाय ततोऽपरेद्युः प्रातर्जायते द्वितीयया कलया संयुक्तः ।एवं पाङ्क्तात्मकोऽसौ प्रजापतिः- दिवादिौ मनः पिता,पृथिव्यग्नी वाक् जाया माता, तयोश्च प्राणः प्रजा, चान्द्र-मस्यस्तिथयः कला वित्तम्- उपचयापचयधर्मित्वात् वित्त-वत्, तासां च कलानां कालावयवानां जगत्परिणामहेतुत्वंकर्म; एवमेष कृत्स्नः प्रजापतिः- जाया मे स्यात्, अथप्रजायेय, अथ वित्तं मे स्यात्, अथ कर्म कुर्वीय- इत्ये-षणानुरूप एव पाङ्क्तस्य कर्मणः फलभूतः संवृत्तः; कार-णानुविधायि हि कार्यमिति लोकेऽपि स्थितिः ।यस्मादेषचन्द्र एतां रात्रिं सर्वप्राणिजातमनुप्रविष्टो ध्रुवया कलयावर्तते, तस्माद्धेतोः एताममावास्यां रात्रिं प्राणभृतः प्राणिनःप्राणं न विच्छिन्द्यात्- प्राणिनं न प्रमापयेदित्येतत्- अपिकृकलासस्य- कृकलासो हि पापात्मा स्वभावेनैव हिंस्यतेप्राणिभिः दृष्टोऽप्यमङ्गल इति कृत्वा ।ननु प्रतिषिद्धैवप्राणिहिंसा 'अहिंसन् सर्वभूतान्यन्यत्र तीर्थेभ्यः' इति;बाढं प्रतिषिद्धा, तथापि न अमावस्याया अन्यत्र प्रतिप्र-सवार्थं वचनं हिंसायाः कृकलासविषये वा, किं तर्हि एतस्याःसोमदेवताया अपचित्यै पूजार्थम् ॥
In plain words
This very year—the creator deity presented as the embodiment of three-fold food—is specifically revealed in the form of the calendar year. Possessing sixteen parts, which are its limbs, it is the sixteen-parted year, the very essence of time. Of this time-personified creator, the nights—specifically the lunar tithis—form the fifteen variable phases. The sixteenth phase remains constant, eternal, and firmly established as the completer of the whole. Through these nights, designated as phases, the creator waxes and wanes: just as the moon swells during the bright fortnight through growing digits until its orb is full on the night of the full moon, and diminishes during the dark fortnight through those same receding phases until only the single constant digit remains on the new moon. That creator, whose very essence is time, pervades all living creatures on the night of the new moon through this sixteenth, unchanging digit. Permeating every drop of water drunk and every plant eaten as nourishment, resting through the new moon night, it is born anew at dawn conjoined with the second digit. Thus, this fivefold creator manifests through desire: heaven and day as father, earth, fire, and speech as the maternal wife, breath as offspring, and the lunar tithis as wealth—sharing the fluctuations of material possessions. The actions that drive the world's transformations complete this picture, so that the whole creator embodies the human cry: 'May I have a wife, may I have progeny, may I have wealth, may I perform sacred rites.' Truly, the effect mirrors its cause. Because the moon permeates all life on this night with its remaining constant digit, one must never sever the breath of any living creature on the new moon night—not even that of a chameleon, which people instinctively kill out of the superstition that seeing one brings bad luck. But is not all harm to living beings forbidden by the scriptural rule against injuring any creature outside of sacred rites? True, it is forbidden; yet this exception is stated not to license general violence or cruelty to chameleons, but solely as an act of reverence and worship toward the moon-deity.
Close to the Sanskrit
This same year—who is this prajapati characterized by three-fold food brought forward—is specifically pointed out in the form of the year. Having sixteen parts, sixteen parts being limbs of this one, that same one is the sixteen-parted year, the year-self, the form of time. And of that time-self prajapati, nights alone—meaning tithis—are the fifteen parts. The sixteenth, completing part of the prajapati, is constant indeed, eternal, and established. By nights alone, spoken of as digits, it is filled up and wanes; just as in the bright fortnight the moon-prajapati waxes, being filled with growing digits until it has a full orb on the full moon; and wanes by those same waning digits in the dark fortnight until the single constant digit remains on the new moon. That prajapati, the time-self, on the new moon night, in every night whatever constant digit is spoken of, by this sixteenth digit having entered into all this breathing living creation—whatever water it drinks and whatever plants it eats, pervading all that same in the form of plant-matter, staying on the new moon night, then on the next day at dawn is born joined with the second digit. Thus this fivefold prajapati—heaven and day are father, earth and fire, speech, is wife, mother, and of those breath is offspring, progeny, and lunar tithis are wealth, because of having the nature of increase and decrease like wealth, and of those digits and time-parts the cause of world-transformation is action; thus this entire prajapati—'may a wife be mine, then may I have progeny, then may wealth be mine, then may I perform action'—has thus become the fruit of action conforming to desires; for in the world too the rule is that the effect conforms to the cause. Since this moon has entered all living creation on this night and exists with the constant digit, for that reason one should not cut off the life of a living being on this new moon night—meaning one should not kill a living creature—even of a chameleon; for a chameleon is sinful by nature, killed by living beings even when seen, thinking it is inauspicious. Now, isn't harm to living beings prohibited 'one should not harm any beings except at sacred places'? True, it is prohibited; nevertheless, the statement is not for the exception of violence elsewhere or in the case of the chameleon, but rather for the honoring and worship of this moon-deity.