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विषयाभिभूतं पापकारिणं मोक्षयित्वा परमपदे परमात्मनि पूर्णानन्दे स्वाराज्ये मोक्षाख्ये स्थापयिष्यामीति मत्वा तत्प्राप्तिसाधनज्ञानसाधनविविदिषासाधनत्वेन यज्ञादीन्विनियुङ्क्ते—‘तमेतं वेदानुवचनेन ब्राह्मणा विविदिषन्ति यज्ञेन दानेन तपसानाशकेन’ इति ।तस्मात्तदर्थत्वेनैव यज्ञादीनां पुरुषार्थत्वम् ।इतरत्र तु पुनः स्वर्गादयो श्येनादीनामिवापुरुषार्थत्वम्, संसारानर्थहेतुत्वात् ।तथा च श्रुतिः—‘प्लवा ह्येते अदृढा यज्ञरूपा अष्टादशोक्तमवरं येषु कर्म ।एतच्छ्रेयो येऽभिनन्दन्ति मूढा जरामृत्यू ते पुनरेवापि यन्ति’ इति ।यस्मादेवं मोक्षतत्साधनप्रतिपादकत्वेन संसारानर्थनिवृत्तिहेतुत्वं वेदानाम्, तस्माद्वेदाः वेदविदं त्रातुं शक्ता एवेत्येतत्सर्वमभिप्रेत्याह श्लोकत्रयेण—तत्र प्रथमेन नित्यापरोक्षं परमपुरुषार्थं परमात्मानं दर्शयति—
In plain words
Intending to rescue the person overpowered by sensory distractions and wrongdoing, and to establish him in the supreme abode of absolute bliss and self-sovereignty known as liberation, scripture enjoins ritual sacrifices as indirect means that generate the desire to know, leading ultimately to wisdom, as declared in the text: 'Seekers of Brahman seek to know this very reality through the study of the Vedas, sacrifice, charity, and disciplined austerity.' Thus sacrifices gain their true value only when directed toward this supreme end. Other rituals, however, aimed at mere heavenly joys, are like destructive rites—they fail to be true human goals because they perpetuate the cycle of transmigration. As scripture says: 'These ritual rafts are frail and unstable, consisting of eighteen inferior forms of action. Those deluded fools who praise this as the highest good fall repeatedly into the jaws of aging and death.' Because the Vedas thus reveal liberation and destroy the misery of worldly existence, they are fully capable of protecting the true seeker. Keeping all this in mind, the text presents three verses, the first of which reveals the ever-present, self-luminous supreme Self as the ultimate human goal.
Close to the Sanskrit
Rescuing the person overwhelmed by sense objects and committing evil, and establishing him in the highest abode within the supreme Self, full of pure bliss and self-sovereignty known as liberation—thinking thus, scripture enjoins sacrifices and other acts as preparatory means through the sequence of generating the desire to know, which leads to knowledge and attainment, as stated in: 'This very Brahman brahmins seek to know through the recitation of Vedas, through sacrifice, charity, austerity, and balanced discipline.' Therefore, sacrifices have human value precisely because they serve this ultimate purpose. Elsewhere, however, heavenly attainments are like the destructive śyena ritual, lacking true human value because they are causes of the misery of samsara. And thus the shruti: 'These unfirm rafts indeed are the eighteen forms of sacrifice, in which inferior action is spoken of; those deluded people who praise this as the higher good fall repeatedly into old age and death.' Since the Vedas thus possess the power to remove the misery of samsara by declaring liberation and its means, the Vedas are fully capable of saving the knower of the Veda. Having all this in mind, he speaks through three verses; there, by the first, he reveals the ever-immediate supreme human goal, the supreme Self.