Bhashya
अथात्मने ।यथा वागादिभिरात्मार्थमागानं कृतम्;तथा मुख्योऽपि प्राणः सर्वप्राणसाधारणं प्राजापत्यफलमा-गानं कृत्वा त्रिषु पवमानेषु, अथ अनन्तरं शिष्टेषु नवसुस्तोत्रेषु, आत्मने आत्मार्थम्, अन्नाद्यम् अन्नं च तदाद्यंच अन्नाद्यम्, आगायत् ।कर्तुः कामसंयोगो वाचनिकइत्युक्तम् ।कथं पुनस्तदन्नाद्यं प्राणेनात्मार्थमागीतमिति गम्यतइत्यत्र हेतुमाह-- यत्किञ्चेति-- सामान्यान्नमात्रपरामर्शार्थः ;हीति हेतौ ; यस्माल्लोके प्राणिभिर्यत्किञ्चिदन्नमद्यते भक्ष्यतेतदनेनैव प्राणेनैव ; अन इति प्राणस्याख्या प्रसिद्धा ; अनः-शब्दः सान्तः शकटवाची, यस्त्वन्यः स्वरान्तः स प्राण-पर्यायः; प्राणेनैव तदद्यत इत्यर्थः; किञ्च, न केवलं प्राणे-नाद्यत एवान्नाद्यम्, तस्मिञ्शरीराकारपरिणतेऽन्नाद्ये इह,प्रतितिष्ठति प्राणः; तस्मात्प्राणेनात्मनः प्रतिष्ठार्थमागीत-मन्नाद्यम् ।यदपि प्राणेनान्नादनं तदपि प्राणस्य प्रतिष्ठार्थ-मेवेति न वागादिष्विव कल्याणासङ्गजपाप्मसंभवः प्राणे-ऽस्ति ॥
In plain words
Then, for its own sake. Just as the earlier chanting was performed for personal benefit through speech and the other organs, so too did the principal breath perform the Prajāpati-chant—which yields the fruit common to all vital breaths—across the three pavamānas and then the nine remaining stotras, securing food as both the edible and the eater for itself. It has already been explained that a doer's connection to desire is scripturally declared. How is it understood that prāṇa chanted for this food for its own sake? Addressing this, the text offers a reason in the phrase beginning with 'yat kiñca,' which serves to reference ordinary food universally. The particle 'hi' denotes cause: because in the world, whatever food is consumed by living creatures is eaten by prāṇa alone. ('Ana' is the well-known name for prāṇa; the word ending in 's' means a cart, while the vowel-ending variant is a synonym for breath.) Not only is food consumed by prāṇa, but prāṇa itself finds grounding here within that food once it has transformed into the shape of the physical body. Therefore, food was chanted for by prāṇa simply to secure its own foundation. And because prāṇa's consumption of food serves solely for its own grounding, it is entirely free from the taint of unblemished evil that attaches to speech and the other organs.
Close to the Sanskrit
Then for the self. Just as chanting was done for the self's sake by means of speech and the others; similarly the principal breath also, having performed the chanting of the fruit pertaining to Prajāpati common to all breaths in the three pavamānas, then subsequently in the remaining nine stotras, chanted for food, for the self's sake, as food and the eater. It has been said that the association of the doer with desire is verbal. How again is it understood that that food was chanted for by prāṇa for the self's sake? In this matter it states the reason: 'yatkiñca'—this is for the purpose of referring to general food alone; 'hi' is in the sense of a reason; because in the world whatever food is eaten by living beings, that by this prāṇa alone—'ana' is the well-known designation of prāṇa; the word 'anas' ends in 's' and denotes a cart, while the other which ends in a vowel is a synonym of prāṇa; by prāṇa alone it is eaten—this is the meaning. Furthermore, not only is food eaten by prāṇa, but prāṇa gets established here in that food transformed into the shape of the body; therefore food was chanted for by prāṇa for the self's establishment. And whatever eating of food is done by prāṇa, that also is solely for the establishment of prāṇa; thus there is no possibility of sin born of unrighteous attachment in prāṇa as there is in speech and the others.