Bhashya
व्ययं च अप्रमत्तो गणयति, तथा प्रभुस्थानीय एषां का- लावयवानां नियन्ता ।तथा प्राच्यः प्रागञ्चनाः पूर्वदिग्ग- मनाः नद्यः स्यन्दन्ते स्रवन्ति, श्वेतेभ्यः हिमवदादिभ्यः पर्वतेभ्यः गिरिभ्यः, गङ्गाद्या नद्यः- ताश्च यथा प्रवर्तिता एव नियताः प्रवर्तन्ते, अन्यथापि प्रवर्तितुमुत्सहन्त्यः ; तदे- तल्लिङ्गं प्रशास्तुः ।प्रतीच्योऽन्याः प्रतीचीं दिशमञ्चन्ति सिन्ध्वाद्या नद्यः ; अन्याश्च यां यां दिशमनुप्रवृत्ताः, तां तां न व्यभिचरन्ति ; तच्च लिङ्गम् ।किंच ददतः हिरण्यादी- न्प्रयच्छतः आत्मपीडां कुर्वतोऽपि प्रमाणज्ञा अपि मनु- ष्याः प्रशंसन्ति ; तत्र यच्च दीयते, ये च ददति, ये च प्रतिगृह्णन्ति, तेषामिहैव समागमो विलयश्च अन्व- क्षो दृश्यते ; अदृष्टस्तु परः समागमः ; तथापि मनु- ष्या ददतां दानफलेन संयोगं पश्यन्तः प्रमाणज्ञतया प्रशंसन्ति ; तच्च, कर्मफलेन संयोजयितरि कर्तुः- कर्मफलविभागज्ञे प्रशास्तरि असति, न स्यात्, दानक्रि- यायाः प्रत्यक्षविनाशित्वात् ; तस्मादस्ति दानकर्तॄणां फलेन संयोजयिता ।अपूर्वमिति चेत्, न, तत्सद्भावे प्रमाणानु- पपत्तेः ।प्रशास्तुरपीति चेत्, न, आगमतात्पर्यस्य सिद्ध- त्वात् ; अवोचाम हि आगमस्य वस्तुपरत्वम् ।किंचान्यत्-
In plain words
And he reckons what goes out just as carefully as what comes in; that is exactly how this Imperishable governs every instant and hour, standing in the place of a master over them. Think of the rivers, too. Some flow east, straight down from the snow-capped Himalaya and its neighboring peaks, the Ganges among them, and they have kept to that same course ever since they were first set flowing, even though nothing stops a river, in principle, from wandering. That steadiness is itself a sign that something rules them. Others, like the Indus, run west, and every river, once it has taken its direction, never strays from it. That, too, is a sign. And notice this: even careful, sensible people praise a person who gives away gold and wealth, even at real cost to himself. Here is what is actually visible: the gift, the giver, the receiver -- their meeting and their parting both happen right in front of us, one right after the other. What is never visible is the deeper connection, the fruit that gift is supposed to bring later on. And yet people still praise the giver, confident of that connection, and their confidence is not blind guesswork, it is reasoned. But that confidence would make no sense unless something existed to actually join a person's action to its fruit, someone who knows exactly how to measure out what each act deserves, because the act of giving is gone the instant it happens; nothing of it remains to carry the connection forward on its own. So there must be a connector, joining every giver to what their giving earns. If you say that connector is just an unseen residue left over from the act, we answer: no such thing has ever been shown to exist. And if you say that this residue, too, would need a ruler behind it, so why not go straight to the ruler, we answer: exactly -- that is already settled, because scripture, properly understood, is always pointing us toward something real, not merely handing out commands. And there is more to say--
Close to the Sanskrit
And he reckons expenditure too, without ever slipping up; just so, this Imperishable, occupying the position of a lord, is the controller of these divisions of time. Similarly, the eastward rivers, moving toward the east, flow and stream from the white mountains beginning with the Himalaya, the peaks -- the Ganges and other such rivers; and these, just as they were once set flowing, flow on in that same fixed course, even though they would be capable of flowing otherwise; that indeed is a mark of a ruler. The westward ones, other rivers -- the Indus and the like -- move toward the western direction; and other rivers, whatever direction each has set out upon, never depart from it; that too is a mark. Moreover, people, even those who reason soundly about evidence, praise one who gives gold and other such things, even though it costs him personally; in this connection: what is given, those who give, and those who receive -- their coming together and their dissolution is seen right here, immediately after the act; but the further coming-together with its fruit is unseen. Nevertheless people, perceiving a connection between givers and the fruit of giving, praise them out of sound, reasoned conviction. And that would not be possible unless there existed, connecting the agent with the fruit of action, a ruler who knows how to apportion each act's fruit correctly -- because the act of giving visibly perishes the instant it is done. Therefore there exists a connector who joins the doers of giving with their fruit. If it is said this connector is merely an unseen potency, no -- there is no proof that such a thing exists. If it is said that even this belongs to a ruler, no -- because the true purport of scripture is already established; for we have said that scripture's ultimate concern is a real, existing entity. Furthermore, another point--