Bhashya
अनेकविशेषणप्रतिषेधप्रयासात् अस्तित्वं तावदक्षरस्योप-गमितं श्रुत्या; तथापि लोकबुद्धिमपेक्ष्य आशङ्क्यते यतः,अतोऽस्तित्वाय अनुमानं प्रमाणमुपन्यस्यति — एतस्य वाअक्षरस्य ।यदेतदधिगतमक्षरं सर्वान्तरं साक्षादपरोक्षाद्ब्रह्म,य आत्मा अशनायादिधर्मातीतः, एतस्य वा अक्षरस्य प्रशा-सने — यथा राज्ञः प्रशासने राज्यमस्फुटितं नियतं वर्तते,एवमेतस्याक्षरस्य प्रशासने — हे गार्गि सूर्याचन्द्रमसौ,सूर्यश्च चन्द्रमाश्च सूर्याचन्द्रमसौ अहोरात्रयोर्लोकप्रदीपौ,तादर्थ्येन प्रशासित्रा ताभ्यां निर्वर्त्यमानलोकप्रयोजनविज्ञा-नवता निर्मितौ च, स्याताम्- साधारणसर्वप्राणिप्रकाशो-पकारकत्वात् लौकिकप्रदीपवत् ।तस्मादस्ति तत्, येनविधृतौ ईश्वरौ स्वतन्त्रौ सन्तौ निर्मितौ तिष्ठतः नि-यतदेशकालनिमित्तोदयास्तमयवृद्धिक्षयाभ्यां वर्तेते ; त-दस्ति एवमेतयोः प्रशासितृ अक्षरम्, प्रदीपकर्तृवि-धारयितृवत् ।एतस्य वा अक्षरस्य प्रशासने गार्गि द्यावापृ-थिव्यौ- द्यौश्च पृथिवी च सावयवत्वात् स्फुटनस्वभावे अपिसत्यौ गुरुत्वात्पतनस्वभावे संयुक्तत्वाद्वियोगस्वभावे चेतना-वदभिमानिदेवताधिष्ठितत्वात्स्वतन्त्रे अपि-एतस्याक्षरस्य प्र-शासने वर्तेते विधृते, तिष्ठतः ; एतद्धि अक्षरं सर्वव्यव-स्थासेतुः सर्वमर्यादाविधरणम् ; अतो नास्याक्षरस्य प्रशासनंद्यावापृथिव्यावतिक्रामतः ; तस्मात् सिद्धमस्यास्तित्वमक्षर-स्य ; अव्यभिचारि हि तल्लिङ्गम्, यत् द्यावापृथिव्यौ नियतेवर्तेते ; चेतनावन्तं प्रशासितारमसंसारिणमन्तरेण नैतद्यु-क्तम्, 'येन द्यौरुग्रा पृथिवी च दृढा' इति मन्त्रवर्णात् ।एतस्य वा अक्षरस्य प्रशासने गार्गि, निमेषाः मुहूर्ताः इत्येतेकालावयवाः सर्वस्यातीतानागतवर्तमानस्य जनिमतः कल-यितारः- यथा लोके प्रभुणा नियतो गणकः सर्वम् आयं
In plain words
Scripture has already conceded, through all those negations, that the Imperishable exists. But ordinary reasoning still balks, so here is a further proof, an inference. Take up the phrase again: 'under the rule of this Imperishable.' This is the Imperishable already identified — the innermost reality of everything, brahman known directly, the Self beyond hunger and thirst and every such need. Under its rule: just as a kingdom stays orderly under a king, so everything stays orderly under this Imperishable. Gārgī, think of the sun and the moon, the two lamps that light day and night. They must have been made — made by a ruler who understood exactly what the world would need from them — because, like any lamp, they simply give their light to every creature alike, with no favorites. So something must exist that holds them in place: sun and moon may look like sovereign powers in their own right, yet they rise and set, wax and wane, always at a fixed place and a fixed time. That governing power is the Imperishable itself, the way a lamp needs someone to make it and keep it lit. The same is true of heaven and earth, Gārgī. They are made of parts, so by nature they could crack apart. They are heavy, so by nature they could fall. They are only joined together, so by nature they could come undone. Conscious powers preside over each of them, so they might seem to answer to no one. And yet they hold their place, under the rule of this same Imperishable. This Imperishable is the very bond that keeps all order standing, the thing that upholds every boundary there is. That is why heaven and earth never break its rule. And that is exactly how we know the Imperishable exists: its mark is unfailing, heaven and earth simply do not move from their courses. None of this makes sense without a conscious ruler, one beyond the reach of birth and death, as the old verse itself says: 'by whom the fierce sky and the firm earth are held.' And Gārgī, under that same rule, even the smallest units of time, the blink of an eye, the passing hour, measure out everything that has ever been born, whether past, present, or still to come. It works the way an accountant, appointed by his master, keeps track of every—
Close to the Sanskrit
By the effort of negating many attributes, the existence of the Imperishable has, to that extent, already been conceded by scripture; nevertheless, out of regard for ordinary understanding, a doubt is raised; therefore an inference is now set forth as proof of its existence: '[under the rule] of this Imperishable.' This Imperishable already ascertained — the innermost of all, brahman known directly and immediately, the Self beyond hunger and the like — under the rule of this Imperishable: just as, under a king's rule, the kingdom remains undisturbed and orderly, so too under the rule of this Imperishable — O Gārgī, the sun and moon, the two lamps of the world for day and night, would be fashioned, for that very purpose, by a ruler who understands the world's purpose to be achieved through them; for, like an ordinary lamp, they benefit all living beings alike by giving light. Therefore that exists by which the sun and moon, though themselves independent lords, stand held and fashioned, functioning through fixed place, time, and cause of rising, setting, waxing, and waning; the ruler of these two is indeed the Imperishable, like the maker and sustainer of a lamp. Under the rule of this Imperishable, Gārgī, heaven and earth — though by nature liable to break apart, being made of parts; though liable to fall, from their heaviness; though liable to separate, being merely joined; and though independent, being presided over by self-regarding conscious deities — nevertheless function under the rule of this very Imperishable, held fast and standing firm. For this Imperishable is the bridge of all order, the sustaining of every limit; therefore heaven and earth do not transgress its rule. Hence the existence of this Imperishable is established, for that is an unfailing mark: heaven and earth remain fixed. Without a conscious ruler free from transmigratory bondage, this would not be reasonable — as the Vedic verse attests: 'by whom the mighty sky and the firm earth are held.' Under the rule of this Imperishable, Gārgī, instants and muhūrtas, these divisions of time, are the reckoners of everything born, past, future, and present, just as, in the world, an accountant appointed by a lord reckons all income—