Bhashya
आपः आसन इति संबन्धः ।वै प्रसिद्धम् ।इदं प्रत्य-क्षादिदृष्टं सलिलम् अम्भेव स प्रजापतिः ।स इति पूर्व-हृदि अन्तःकरणे प्रतीष्य प्रत्यगात्मानमवेक्ष्य मनीषा मनी-षा विपश्चिद्बुद्ध्या ।ब्रह्मणो बन्धुं बन्धुमिव बन्धुं परं ब्रह्मव्याकर्तारं क्षीरोदार्णवादिविशेषणविशिष्टं भाविसृष्टेः स्रष्टारंमूलमन्त्रसामाद्युपास्यं हृदि निरविन्दन् इत्युत्तरार्धस्य गूढो-ऽभिप्रायः ।इति-शब्दः ऋक्समाप्तिं द्योतयति ।उपैनं का-मिनं तत्काम्यम् उपनमति यस्मिन् कामो भवति ।सःप्रजापतिः, तपः 'मनसश्चेन्द्रियाणां चैकाग्र्यं परमं तपः'इति स्मरणात् अतप्यत मनसश्चेन्द्रियाणां च ऐकाग्र्यमकरोत् ।सः प्रजापतिः, तपस्तप्त्वा पूर्वं व्याख्यातम्, स प्रजापतिःएतं प्रकृतं सर्वनाम्नोपात्तं सतो बन्धुमित्यनेन गूढाभिप्रायेणसूचितम्, 'ज्योतिश्चरणाभिधानात्' इति न्यायेन, मन्त्रराजंप्राकरणिकमन्त्राणां राजानं प्रधानभूतं सामराजं वा ।मन्त्र-शब्दस्य 'अहेबुध्निय मन्त्रं मे गोपाय ।यमृषयस्त्रयीविदाविदुः ।ऋचः सामानि यजूंषि' इत्यादौ साम्न्यपि प्रयु-क्तत्वात् ।नारसिंहं नृसिंहसम्बन्धि सामादि तद्धितान्;नृसिंहगायत्र्यादिप्राप्तौ तद्व्यावृत्त्यर्थं आनुष्टुभमिति अनुष्टु-प्छन्दउपाधिकम् ऋग्विशेषमाह, 'गायत्रमेतदहर्भवति' इतिन्यायात् ।अपश्यत् दृष्टवानित्यभिप्रायः ।एतदुक्तं भव-ति— द्वितीयतृतीयचतुर्थपञ्चमोपनिषत्सु मन्त्रराजादित्रयःशब्दाः प्रयुक्ताः तत्पुरुषबहुव्रीहितद्धितसामर्थ्यात् पूर्वपूर्वो-पनिषदर्थमाचक्षाणाः सन्त एव आदौ प्रयुक्ताः कृत्स्नामेवब्रह्मविद्यां संगृहीतवन्तः ; अतश्च वक्ष्यमाणां कृत्स्नामेव ब्रह्म-विद्यामपश्यदित्यर्थः ।तेन वै प्रागुक्तेन, वै प्रसिद्धम्, सर्वामि-दमसृजत प्रत्यक्षादिसिद्धमसृजत ।यदिदं किंच स्पष्टम् ।तस्मात्सर्वमिदमानुष्टुभमित्याचक्षते यदिदं किंच मन्त्रराजना-रसिंहशब्दौ ।इह आनुष्टुभमिति तद्धितप्रयोगात् द्वात्रिंश-दक्षराणामेव तत्साम्नश्च सामर्थ्यं दर्शयत्येव ।अत्राप्युपाख्या-यिकायां किल प्रजापतिः तपसा लोकत्रयसृष्ट्यर्थमेव कार-णजिज्ञासुः अत्यन्तशुद्धान्तःकरणत्वात् शक्तिद्वययुक्तां ब्रह्म-स्वरूपिणीं भूतसृष्टिपुरःसरसर्वसृष्टिकारणिकामनुष्टुब्वृत्तम् अ-पश्यदित्याह ।अनुष्टुभो वा इमानि भूतानि जायन्ते अनु-ष्टुभा जातानि जीवन्ति अनुष्टुभं प्रयन्त्यभिसंविशन्ति इति‘जन्माद्यस्य यतः’ इत्यस्या ब्रह्मलक्षणलक्षितत्वं दर्शयति ।उक्तमेवार्थं द्रढयितुं ऋचं साक्षित्वेनोद्भावयति— तस्यब्रह्मस्वरूपस्य साक्षिणी एषा वक्ष्यमाणा ऋक् भवति ।अनुष्टुप् प्रथमा भवति सर्वसृष्टेः प्रथमा आद्या भवति ।अनुष्टुप् उत्तमा श्रेष्ठा भवति ।वाग्वा अनुष्टुप् सर्वो वा-क्प्रपञ्चः अनुष्टुभि लीन इति दर्शयति ।नामसृष्टिपूर्व-कत्वाद्रूपसृष्टेः वाग्रूपत्त्वादनुष्टुभः अनुष्टुबेव मूलकारणम् ।वाचैव प्रयान्ति अनुष्टुभैव प्रलयं गच्छन्ति भूतानि ।वाचैव अनुष्टुभैव उद्यन्ति उत्पत्तिं गच्छन्ति ।परमा वा एषा छन्दसां गायत्र्यादीनाम्, छन्दसां वेदानां वा, परमा उत्कृष्टा ।परमत्वं च सामाधारत्त्वादनुष्टुभः ।साम्नश्च परमत्वम् 'देवा वै नर्चि न यजुष्यश्रयन्त ते सामन्येवाश्रयन्त' इति श्रुतेः, 'वेदानां सामवेदोऽस्मि' इति स्मृतेश्च ।यदनुष्टुबिति इति-शब्दः ऋक्समाप्तिं द्योतयति ॥
In plain words
'The waters were' — that is how this connects to what came before. 'Vai' simply means well-known. This water we can point to, seen the way anything is seen — that liquid itself was Prajāpati. 'He' still means Prajāpati; 'in the heart' means in the inner faculty of mind; 'having sought' means having turned to look at the innermost Self; and 'by reflection' means by a sharp, discerning intellect. 'The bond of Brahman' is a kinship-word used loosely — what it really names is the supreme Brahman, the one who unfolds creation, described by epithets like 'the ocean of milk,' the maker of everything still to come, the one to be held in meditation through the root-mantra, the Sāman, and the rest. 'They found in the heart' — that is the hidden sense folded into the second half of the verse, and the word 'thus' simply marks where that verse ends. 'It comes near him' means: whatever a person desires comes and finds the one who desires it — that is what the object of desire is. 'He' is Prajāpati; and as for 'austerity,' there is a smṛti verse behind it — 'making mind and senses one-pointed is the highest austerity' — so 'he practiced austerity' simply means he brought mind and senses to one point. To repeat: 'he' is Prajāpati, and 'having practiced austerity' was already explained; that same Prajāpati now saw this mantra — already under discussion, already pointed to by a pronoun, already hinted at, in fact, by the phrase 'the bond of the existent.' The reasoning is the same one used elsewhere: mentioning an associated rite can stand for the principal thing itself. So 'king of mantras' names the chief among the mantras relevant here — or, on another reading, the king of the Sāman. We know 'mantra' can mean a Sāma-verse too, because scripture itself calls the Ṛc, the Sāman, and the Yajus all 'mantra' in one breath: 'O Ahirbudhnya, guard my mantra, which the sages who know the three Vedas know as the Ṛcs, the Sāmans, the Yajus.' 'Belonging to Narasiṃha' is a derived form meaning 'connected with Narasiṃha' — the Sāman or the like. But that alone could just as easily point to the Narasiṃha-Gāyatrī, so to rule that out, the text adds 'in the Anuṣṭubh metre,' pinning down one particular verse by its metre — the same way we might call a day 'Gāyatra' simply because a Gāyatrī chant is sung on it. 'He saw' just means he had seen it. And here is the real point being made: the three words 'king of mantras,' 'of Narasiṃha,' and 'in the Anuṣṭubh' appear at the start of the second, third, fourth, and fifth sections of this Upaniṣad, and because each is a different kind of compound — a plain determinative, a possessive, a derived form — each one carries forward the sense of the section before it. Placed at the very beginning, together they gather up the entire teaching of Brahman in advance. So what is really being said is that Prajāpati saw the whole teaching that is about to unfold. 'By that' means by that already-named mantra; 'indeed' just means well-known; and 'he created all this' means he brought forth everything we can point to and perceive. 'Whatever there is' needs no further explanation — it is self-evident. 'That is why they call all this, whatever it is, Anuṣṭubh' — and the two words that earn it that name are 'king of mantras' and 'of Narasiṃha.' The very fact that 'Anuṣṭubh' is used here as a derived form shows the power belongs specifically to those thirty-two syllables, and through them to that Sāman. And in the story itself, Prajāpati — his mind perfectly clear, seeking only the cause that could create the three worlds — saw, through his austerity, the Anuṣṭubh in its living form: charged with a twofold power, Brahman's very nature, the cause of the whole creation that follows the making of living beings. And the line 'every creature is born from the Anuṣṭubh, lives by it, and returns into it' shows that the Anuṣṭubh answers exactly to the definition of Brahman: that from which all this is born, sustained, and dissolved. To drive that same point home, the text now brings forward a verse as a witness — a verse about to be spoken, testifying to that very nature of Brahman. 'The Anuṣṭubh is first' means it stands at the very beginning of all creation. 'The Anuṣṭubh is last' means it is also the finest, the most excellent. 'Speech itself is the Anuṣṭubh' shows that the whole unfolding of speech dissolves back into it. Because the creation of form always follows the creation of name, and because the Anuṣṭubh is itself made of speech, the Anuṣṭubh alone is the root of everything. 'By speech alone they depart' means: by the Anuṣṭubh alone do beings go to their dissolution. 'By speech alone they arise' means: by the Anuṣṭubh alone do they come into being. 'Supreme among the metres' — supreme among those like the Gāyatrī, or, taken another way, supreme among the Vedas themselves; 'paramā' just means excellent. And that supremacy belongs to the Anuṣṭubh because the Sāman itself rests on it — and the Sāman's own supremacy is what scripture affirms: 'The gods found no refuge in the Ṛc, none in the Yajus — they took refuge in the Sāman alone,' and what smṛti affirms: 'Of the Vedas, I am the Sāmaveda.' And in that closing phrase, 'which is the Anuṣṭubh,' the word 'thus' simply marks where the verse comes to its end.
Close to the Sanskrit
'The waters were' — thus is the connection [with what precedes]. 'Vai' means 'well-known.' This water, seen by direct perception and so on, like fluid — that was Prajāpati. 'Saḥ' [means Prajāpati] as before; 'hṛdi' [means] in the inner organ; 'pratīṣya' [means] having looked upon the inward Self; 'manīṣā' [means] manīṣā, by the discerning intellect. 'The bond of Brahman' [means]: the bond, so to speak, [namely] the supreme Brahman, the differentiator, characterized by the qualifiers beginning with 'ocean of milk,' the creator of the future creation, to be meditated upon through the root-mantra, the Sāman, and so on — 'they found in the heart': this is the hidden purport of the verse's second half. The word 'iti' indicates the completion of the Ṛc verse. 'Upa enam' [means]: unto him, the desirer, approaches that desired object — [namely] that in which the desire consists. 'Saḥ' [means] Prajāpati; 'tapaḥ,' on the authority of the smṛti 'the one-pointedness of mind and senses is the highest austerity' — 'atapyata' [means] he made the mind and senses one-pointed. [Restating:] 'saḥ' [means] Prajāpati; 'tapas taptvā' was explained before; that Prajāpati [saw] this [mantra], already under discussion, referred to by a pronoun, hinted at by the hidden purport in 'the bond of the existent' — by the maxim 'because of the mention of the [associated] observance [the principal, light, is meant]' — 'mantrarāja,' the king among the mantras relevant here, the principal one, or [alternatively] king of the Sāman. [This follows] because the word 'mantra' is used even of the Sāman, as in 'O Ahirbudhnya, guard my mantra, which the sages, knowers of the triple Veda, know as the Ṛcs, the Sāmans, the Yajus,' and so on. 'Nārasiṃham' [is] a taddhita-form meaning 'connected with Narasiṃha' — the Sāman and the like. Since this would [otherwise] extend to the Narasiṃha-Gāyatrī and similar texts, to exclude that, [the text] says 'ānuṣṭubham,' indicating a particular Ṛc verse marked by having the Anuṣṭubh metre — by the maxim 'this day is Gāyatra.' 'Apaśyat' means 'had seen' — such is the intent. This is what is meant: the three words beginning with 'mantrarāja,' used in the second, third, fourth, and fifth Upaniṣad-sections, being — by virtue of being respectively a tatpuruṣa, a bahuvrīhi, and a taddhita — expressive of the meaning of each preceding section, and being used at the very outset, have thereby comprehended the entire Brahmavidyā; therefore the sense is that he saw the entire Brahmavidyā about to be declared. 'Tena' [means] by that already-mentioned [mantra]; 'vai' [means] well-known; 'sarvam idam asṛjata' [means] he created what is established by direct perception and so on. 'Yad idaṃ kiṃca' is self-evident. 'Therefore they call all this, whatever it is, ānuṣṭubham' — 'mantrarāja' and 'nārasiṃha' are the two words [that justify this]. Here, the use of the taddhita-form 'ānuṣṭubham' indeed shows the power precisely of the thirty-two syllables and of that Sāman. Here too, in the narrative, [the text] states that Prajāpati, seeking through austerity solely the cause for creating the three worlds, because his inner organ was utterly pure, saw the Anuṣṭubh metrical form — possessed of a twofold power, of the very nature of Brahman, the cause of all creation preceded by the creation of beings. [The statement] 'From the Anuṣṭubh indeed these beings are born; born of the Anuṣṭubh, they live; into the Anuṣṭubh they depart and merge' shows that this [Anuṣṭubh] is characterized by the Brahman-definition [of Brahmasūtra 1.1.2], 'that from which the birth, etc. [of this world proceeds].' To confirm this very point, [the text] adduces a Ṛc verse as witness: this verse, about to be stated, is a witness to that nature of Brahman. 'The Anuṣṭubh is first' [means] it is the very first of all creation. 'The Anuṣṭubh is uttamā' [means] it is the best, the most excellent. 'Speech indeed is the Anuṣṭubh' shows that the entire manifestation of speech is dissolved in the Anuṣṭubh. Because the creation of form is preceded by the creation of name, and because the Anuṣṭubh has the very form of speech, the Anuṣṭubh alone is the root cause. 'By speech alone they depart' [means] by the Anuṣṭubh alone do beings go to dissolution. 'By speech alone they arise' [means] by the Anuṣṭubh alone do they go to origination. 'Supreme indeed is this among the metres' — among those beginning with Gāyatrī, or alternatively among the Vedas; 'paramā' means excellent. And [this] supremacy [belongs] to the Anuṣṭubh because it is the basis of the Sāman. And the supremacy of the Sāman [rests] on the śruti, 'The gods indeed did not take refuge in the Ṛc, nor in the Yajus — they took refuge in the Sāman alone,' and on the smṛti, 'Of the Vedas, I am the Sāmaveda.' In '[namely] which is the Anuṣṭubh,' the word 'iti' indicates the completion of the Ṛc verse.