Bhashya
एषां प्राणानां कस्य कर्म व्रतत्वेन धारयितव्यमिति मीमांसा प्रवर्तते ।तत्र प्रजापतिः ह- ह-शब्दः किलार्थे- प्रजापतिः किल प्रजाः सृष्ट्वा कर्माणि करणानि वागादीनि- कर्मा- र्थानि हि तानीति कर्माणीत्युच्यन्ते- ससृजे सृष्टवान् वा- गादीनि करणानीत्यर्थः ।तानि पुनः सृष्टानि अन्योन्येन इतरेतरम् अस्पर्धन्त स्पर्धां संघर्षं चक्रुः; कथम्? वदि- ष्याम्येव स्वव्यापाराद्वदनादनुपरतैव अहं स्थामीति वाग्व्रतं दध्रे धृतवती- यद्यन्योऽपि मत्समोऽस्ति स्वव्यापारादनु- परन्तुं शक्तः, सोऽपि दर्शयत्वात्मनो वीर्यमिति; तथा द्रक्ष्याम्यहमिति चक्षुः; श्रोष्याम्यहमिति श्रोत्रम्; एवम- न्यानि कर्माणि करणानि यथाकर्म- यत् यत् यस्य कर्म यथाकर्म-तानि करणानि मृत्युर्मारकः श्रमः श्रमरूपी भूत्वा उपयेमे संजग्राह ।कथम्? तानि करणानि स्वव्यापारे प्रवृ- त्तानि आप्रोत् श्रमरूपेण आत्मानं दर्शितवान्; आप्त्वा च तानि अवारुन्ध अवरोधं कृतवान्मृत्युः- स्वकर्मभ्यः प्रच्या- वितवानित्यर्थः ।तस्मादद्यत्वेऽपि वदने स्वकर्माणि प्रवृत्ता वाक् श्राम्यत्येव श्रमरूपिणा मृत्युना संयुक्ता स्वकर्मतः प्रच्च्य- वते; तथा श्राम्यति चक्षुः; श्राम्यति श्रोत्रम् ।अथेममेव मुख्यं प्राणं न आप्रोन् न प्राप्तवान्मृत्युः श्रमरूपी- योऽयंमध्यमः प्राणः तम् ।तैनाद्यत्वेऽप्यश्रान्त एव स्वकर्मणिप्रवर्तते ।तानीतराणि करणानि तं ज्ञातुं दधिरे धृतवन्तिमनः ; अयं वै नः अस्माकं मध्ये श्रेष्ठः प्रशस्यतमःअभ्यधिकः, यस्मात् यः संचरंश्चासंचरंश्च न व्यथते, अथोन रिष्यति- हन्त इदानीमस्यैव प्राणस्य सर्वे वयं रूपम-साम प्राणमात्मत्वेन प्रतिपद्येमहि- एवं विनिश्चित्य ते एत्-स्यैव सर्वे रूपमभवन् प्राणरूपमेव आत्मत्वेन प्रतिपन्नाः प्रा-णव्रतमेव दधिरे- अस्मद्व्रतानि न मृत्योर्वारणाय पर्याप्तानीति ।यस्मात्प्राणेन रूपेण रूपवन्तीतराणि करणानि चलनात्मनास्वेन च प्रकाशात्मना ; न हि प्राणादन्यत्र चलनात्मकत्वो-पपत्तिः ; चलनव्यापारपूर्वकाण्येव हि सर्वदा स्वव्यापारेषुलक्ष्यन्ते- तस्मात् एते वागादयः एतेन प्राणाभिधानेनआख्यायन्ते अभिधीयन्ते-प्राणा इत्येवम् ।य एवं प्राणा-त्मतां सर्वकरणानां वेत्ति प्राणशब्दाभिधेयत्वं च, तेन हवाव तेनैव विदुषा तत्कुलमाचक्षते लौकिकाः, यस्मिन्कुलेस विद्वान् जातो भवति- तत्कुलं विद्वन्नाम्नैव प्रथितं भव-ति-अमुष्येदं कुलमिति-यथा तापत्य इति ।य एवं यथोक्तंवेद वागादीनां प्राणरूपतां प्राणरूपत्वं च, तस्यैतत्फलम् ।किंच यः कश्चित् उ ह एवंविदा प्राणात्मदर्शिना स्पर्धते त-त्प्रतिपक्षी सन् सः अस्मिन्नेव शरीरे अनुशुष्यति शोषमुपगच्छति ; अनुशुष्य हैव शोषं गत्वैव अन्ततः अन्ते म्रियते, न सहसा अनुपद्रुतो म्रियते ।इत्येवमुक्तमध्यात्मं प्राणात्मदर्शनमिति उक्तोपसंहारः अधिदैवतप्रदर्शनार्थः ॥
In plain words
An inquiry arises concerning these vital breaths: whose function should be upheld as an inviolable vow? Legend says Prajāpati created creatures and the active instruments—speech and the rest, which exist for action. Once created, these organs plunged into a fierce rivalry with one another. How? Speech vowed: 'I will keep right on speaking, never pausing from my task. Let any rival who fancies himself my equal show his own vitality and stop!' The eye and the ear made similar boasts. Then Death, assuming the form of weariness, overtook these active organs, pervaded them, and blocked them from functioning, dislodging them from their natural duties. That is why even today, when speech engages in its work, it grows tired—afflicted by death in the guise of fatigue—and slips from its proper function. The eye and the ear grow tired in the same way. But Death failed to reach this primary breath, the central prāṇa. Therefore, even today, prāṇa remains unflaggingly active at its post. The other organs resolved to investigate it: 'This indeed is the greatest among us, the most excellent; whether in motion or at rest, it never falters and never perishes. Come, let us all become of one form with this breath and realize prāṇa as our very self.' Deciding thus, they all transformed themselves into the shape of prāṇa, embraced prāṇa as their inner self, and adopted prāṇa's vow, recognizing that their own individual vows were powerless to keep Death away. Because the other organs—endowed with motion and light—take on their forms only through prāṇa (motion being impossible without prāṇa, since all organs are seen operating only when driven by motion), these faculties of speech and others are called by the single name 'prāṇa.' Whoever understands this unity of all organs in prāṇa sees his lineage honored: the family into which such a wise man is born becomes renowned by his very name, just as one speaks of 'the descendant of Tapanī.' Whoever knows this truth about speech and the other organs shares this fruit. Moreover, if anyone dares to compete with such a knower who beholds prāṇa as the self, that opponent withers away right within this very body; he wastes away and dies a lingering death, rather than passing away suddenly and untouched. Thus the inner teaching of prāṇa as the self has been declared; this conclusion sets the stage for demonstrating its cosmic dimension.
Close to the Sanskrit
Of these vital breaths, of whom is the action to be held as a vow, this inquiry proceeds. There, Prajāpati having created creatures and actions—namely speech and others, which are purposed for action—created them. They, created, competed with one another; how? Speech resolved, 'I will speak indeed, and remaining unceasingly in my activity of speaking I will stand—if another also is equal to me, capable of pausing from his activity, let him also show his vitality'; and similarly the eye, and the ear. Thus death, taking the form of fatigue as a killer, approached and seized those organs engaged in their activities; having approached, death obstructed them, dislodging them from their actions. Therefore even today speech, engaged in its actions, gets fatigued, joined with death in the form of fatigue, and slips from its action; similarly the eye and the ear get fatigued. But death, taking the form of fatigue, did not reach this chief prāṇa, the middle breath. Therefore even today it remains active in its work without fatigue. Those other organs resolved to know it: 'This indeed is the most excellent among us, surpassing, since whether moving or not moving it is not troubled and does not perish—come, let us all become the form of this very breath and attain breath as the self.' Having thus decided, all of them became the form of this very breath, took prāṇa as the self, and held the vow of prāṇa, realizing: 'Our vows are not sufficient for the warding off of death.' Because through prāṇa as form, other organs—endowed with motion and light by their own nature, for motion cannot reasonably exist apart from prāṇa, since they are always observed in their activities preceded by the activity of motion—therefore these speech and others are designated by this name of prāṇa. Whoever knows this identity of all organs with prāṇa and their designation by the name of prāṇa, worldly people speak of his family by the very name of that wise man, in which family that wise man is born—that family becomes renowned by the name of the wise man, as 'the descendant of Tapanī'. Whoever knows thus the state of speech and others as prāṇa, this is his fruit. Furthermore, whichever rival competes with such a knower who sees prāṇa as the self, being his opponent, he withers away right in this body, undergoes decay, and ultimately dies after withering completely, not suddenly without affliction. Thus the vision of prāṇa as the self regarding the inner self has been stated; the conclusion of this statement is for the purpose of demonstrating the cosmic realm.