Bhashya
यो ज्ञानकर्मसमुच्चयकारी सः अन्तकाले आदित्यं प्रार्थ-यति ; अस्ति च प्रसङ्गः ; गायत्र्यास्तुरीयः पादो हि सः ;तदुपस्थानं प्रकृतम् ; अतः स एव प्रार्थ्यते ।हिरण्मयेनज्योतिर्मयेन पात्रेण, यथा पात्रेण-इष्टं वस्तु अपिधीयते, एव-मिदं सत्याख्यं ब्रह्म ज्योतिर्मयेन मण्डलेनापिहितमिव अस-माहितचेतसामदृश्यत्वात् ; तदुच्यते- सत्यस्यापिहितं मुखंमुख्यं स्वरूपम् ; तत् अपिधानं पात्रमपिधानमिव दर्शन-प्रतिबन्धकारणम्, तत् त्वम्, हे पूषन्, जगतः पोषणात्पूषाकृतिं गच्छन्तु; अथ इदमपि भस्मान्तं सत् पृथिवीं यातु शरीरम् ।अथेदानीम् आत्मनः संकल्पभूतां मनसि व्यवस्थिताम् अग्निदेवतां प्रार्थयते— ॐ क्रतो; ओमिति क्रतो इति च संबोधनार्थावेव ; ओंकारप्रतीकत्वात् ओम् ; मनोमयत्वाच्च क्रतुः ; हे ॐ, हे क्रतो, स्मर स्मर्तव्यम् ; अन्तकाले हि त्वत्स्मरणवशात् इष्टा गतिः प्राप्यते ; अतः प्रार्थयते—यत् मया कृतम्, तत् स्मर ; पुनरुक्तिः आदरार्था ।किंच हे अग्ने, नय प्रापय, सुपथा शोभनेन मार्गेण, राये धनाय कर्मफलप्राप्तये इत्यर्थः ; न दक्षिणेन कृष्णेन पुनरावृत्तियुक्तेन, किं तर्हि शुक्लेनैव सुपथा ; अस्मान् विश्वानि सर्वाणि, हे देव, वयुनानि प्रज्ञानानि सर्वप्राणिनां विद्वान् ; किंच युयोधि अपनय वियोजय अस्मत् अस्मत्तः, जुहुराणं कुटिलम्, एनः पापं पापजातं सर्वम् ; तेन पापेन वियुक्ता वयम् एष्याम उत्तरेण पथा त्वत्प्रसादात् ; किं तु वयं तुभ्यं परिचर्यां कर्तुं न शक्नुमः ; भूयिष्ठां बहुतमां ते तुभ्यं नमउक्तिं नमस्कारवचनं विधेम नमस्कारोक्त्या परिचरेमेत्यर्थः, अन्यत्कर्तुमशक्ताः सन्तः इति ॥
In plain words
The one who has joined knowledge with action prays, at his last hour, to the sun — and rightly so, because that sun is the fourth quarter of the Gāyatrī, and meditation on that quarter is exactly what is being taught here. "Through a golden vessel of light" — just as a lid hides something we want, this Brahman called the Real is hidden behind that shining disc, invisible to a mind that hasn't gathered itself. That's what is meant by "the face of the Real is covered": its true nature is veiled, the way a lid seals a vessel, and that veil is exactly what blocks the sight of it. That disc is you, Pūṣan — nourisher of the world, named for nourishing — let your nourishing work be done; and let this body, which will end as ash, return now to the earth. Then he turns and prays to Agni, the fire that is nothing but the self's own resolve, sitting inside the mind: "Oṃ, O Krato" — both words here are simply how you address him: "Om" because he is the very symbol of that syllable, "Krato" because resolve is made of mind. O Om, O Krato — remember, remember what deserves to be remembered. Because it is by the strength of your remembering that a person reaches the destiny he longed for, at the very end. So he prays again: remember what I have done — remember it. Saying it twice is not carelessness; it's how you speak when something matters. And further: O Agni, lead us — carry us — by the good road, the bright path, toward the reward of what we have done; not the dark southern road that circles back into birth again, but the bright one alone. You know every form of knowing in every living thing, O god. And further still: clear away from us, strip off us, whatever is crooked and dishonest in us, every sin, everything born of sin. Freed of that, we will travel the northern road by your grace alone — because there is nothing else we are able to do for you. So we offer you the fullest words of homage we have, since offering homage is the only service left within our power.
Close to the Sanskrit
He who is a joint-practitioner of knowledge and action prays, at the time of death, to Āditya; and there is occasion for this, for that sun is indeed the fourth foot of Gāyatrī; meditation on that foot is the topic under discussion; therefore that very sun is prayed to. "By a golden, light-made vessel" — just as a desired object is covered by a vessel, so this Brahman named the Real is, as it were, covered by the light-made orb, because it is not seen by those whose minds are not concentrated; that is what is meant when it is said: the face of the Real, its principal own-form, is covered; that covering, like the covering that is a lid on a vessel, is the cause of the obstruction of sight; that [orb] is you, O Pūṣan — so called because he nourishes the world; let its nourishing effect come to pass; and now let this body too, which ends in ash, go to the earth. Now, at this point, he prays to the deity Agni, who is the resolve of the self, situated in and existing as the mind: "Oṃ, O Krato" — "Om" and "Krato" here serve only as vocatives of address; "Om" because it is the symbol of the syllable Om, and "Krato" because resolve is a product of mind; O Om, O Krato, remember, remember what is to be remembered — for it is by the power of remembering you, at the time of death, that the wished-for destiny is attained; hence he prays: remember what has been done by me; remember that — the repetition is for emphasis. Further: O Agni, lead — that is, bring us — by a good path, by an auspicious road, to wealth, that is, to the attainment of the fruit of action; not by the southern, dark path bound up with return, but rather by the bright path alone; you who know all the forms of knowledge — all the cognitions — of every living being, O god; further: keep away, remove, disjoin from us the crooked, deceitful sin, all that is born of sin; freed from that sin we shall proceed by the northern path, by your grace; but as for us, we are not able to render you [any other] service; the utmost, the very greatest utterance of homage — words of salutation — may we offer to you: that is, may we thereby serve you, being unable to do anything else.