Bhashya
स य इमांस्त्रीन्- स यः गायत्रीवित् इमान् भूरादीन्त्रीन् गोश्वादिधनपूर्णान् लोकान् प्रतिगृह्णीयात्, स प्रतिग्रहः,अस्या गायत्र्या एतत्प्रथमं पदं यद्व्याख्यातम् आप्नुयात् प्रथ-मपदविज्ञानफलम्, तेन भुक्तं स्यात्, न त्वधिकदोषोत्पादकःस प्रतिग्रहः ।अथ पुनः यावती इयं त्रयी विद्या, यस्तावत्प्रतिगृह्णीयात्, सोऽस्या एतद्द्वितीयं पदमाप्नुयात्, द्वितीयपद-विज्ञानफलं तेन भुक्तं स्यात् ।तथा यावदिदं प्राणि, यस्ता-वत्प्रतिगृह्णीयात्, सोऽस्या एतत्तृतीयं पदमाप्नुयात्, तेन तृ-तीयपदविज्ञानफलं भुक्तं स्यात् ।कल्पयित्वेदमुच्यते ; पाद-त्रयसममपि यदि कश्चित्प्रतिगृह्णीयात्, तत्पादत्रयविज्ञानफ-लस्यैव क्षयकारणम्, न त्वन्यस्य दोषस्य कर्तृत्वे क्षमम् ;न चैवं दाता प्रतिग्रहीता वा ; गायत्रीविज्ञानस्तुतये क-ल्प्यते ; दाता प्रतिग्रहीता च यद्यप्येवं संभाव्यते, नासौप्रतिग्रहः अपराधक्षमः ; कस्मात् ? यतः अभ्यधिकमपि पुरु-षार्थविज्ञानम् अवशिष्टमेव चतुर्थपादविषयं गायत्र्याः ; तद्-र्शयति— अथ अस्याः एतदेव तुरीयं दर्शतं पदं परोरजा य एष तपति, यद्यैतत् नैव केनचन केनचिदपि प्रतिग्रहेण आप्यं नैव प्राप्यमित्यर्थः, यथा पूर्वोक्तानि त्रीणि पदानि; एतान्यपि नैव आप्यानि केनचित् ; कल्पयित्वा एवमुक्तम् ; परमार्थतः कुत उ एतावत् प्रतिगृह्णीयात् त्रैलोक्यादिसमम् ।तस्मात् गायत्री एवंप्रकारा उपास्येत्यर्थः ॥
In plain words
Take someone who truly knows the Gāyatrī. Hand him all three worlds, stuffed with cattle, horses, every kind of wealth — and what he has received is worth her first foot, nothing more, nothing less; he simply enjoys that fruit, and no extra fault attaches to the gift. Hand him everything the threefold Veda amounts to, and that is her second foot. Hand him everything that breathes, and that is her third. Even a gift equal to all three together would only use up the fruit those three feet promise — it could never create some new wrongdoing, for either the giver or the one who receives. The whole scene of giver and receiver is only staged to praise how much this knowledge is worth; it carries no real blame. Why not? Because something greater is still waiting beyond those three: the fourth foot. And the text shows exactly that: 'her fourth, visible foot, the sun beyond the dust' — cannot be bought by anyone, by any gift, ever. Which means, honestly, even the earlier comparisons were never literal — no one really could hand over three whole worlds. It was all a way of making a point. So this is the truth of it: the Gāyatrī is exactly this kind of reality, and this is how she is to be worshipped.
Close to the Sanskrit
'He who...' — he who is a knower of the Gāyatrī, should he receive these three worlds, beginning with Bhūr, full of wealth such as cattle and horses — that reception, he would obtain this, her first foot, which has been explained, [as] the fruit of knowing the first foot; by that he would be satisfied; but that reception is not a producer of any additional fault. Now again, as much as this threefold knowledge is, whoever should receive that much would obtain this, her second foot; the fruit of knowing the second foot would be enjoyed by that. Likewise, as much as this that breathes is, whoever should receive that much would obtain this, her third foot; by that the fruit of knowing the third foot would be enjoyed. Having supposed this, it is said: even if someone should receive [a gift] equal to [all] three feet, that would only be the exhausting of the fruit of knowledge of the three feet — it is not capable of producing any other fault. Nor, in this way, [do] the giver or the receiver [incur fault]; it is imagined [only] for the praise of knowledge of the Gāyatrī. Even though the giver and receiver are conceived of in this way, that reception is not liable to the charge of wrongdoing. Why? Because there remains still a further object of human aspiration — the domain of the fourth foot of the Gāyatrī. This it shows: 'Now, this indeed is her fourth, visible foot: beyond the dust, this one that shines' — if this is not attainable, not reachable, by any reception whatsoever, by any means at all — that is the meaning — then, just as with the previously stated three feet, these too are, in truth, not attainable by anyone; [the earlier equivalence] was stated hypothetically. In ultimate truth, how could one receive [a gift] equal to this much, equal to the three worlds and the like? Therefore, the Gāyatrī, being of this very nature, is to be worshipped — that is the meaning.