सा वा एषा देवतैतासां देवतानां पाप्मानं मृत्युमपहत्य यत्रासां दिशामन्तस्तद्गमयां चकार ।तदासां पाप्मनो विन्यदधात् ।तस्मान्न जनमियान्नान्तमियान्नेत्पाप्मानं मृत्युमन्ववायानीति ॥बृह. १,३.१० ॥
In plain words
This deity, having struck away the evil, which is death, from these deities, carried it to where the quarters end, and there set down their evils. Therefore let a man not go to a foreign people, nor to the borders, lest he fall in with evil, with death.
The commentators
Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣadbhāṣyam· Leaf 8.74
‘ सा वा एषा देवता... दूरं ह वा अस्मान्मृत्युर्भवति ’ इत्युक्तम्; कथं पुनरेवंविदो दूरं मृत्युर्भवतीति? उच्यते— एवंवित्त्वविरोधात्; इन्द्रियविषयसंसर्गसङ्गो हि पाप्मा प्राणात्माभिमानिनो हि विरुध्यते, वागादिविशेषात्माभि- मानेहेतुत्वात्स्वाभाविकाज्ञानहेतुत्वाच्च; शास्त्रजनितो हि प्रा- णात्माभिमानः; तस्मात् एवंविदः पाप्मा दूरं भवतीति युक्तम्, विरोधात्;— तदेतत्प्रदर्शयति—
सा वा एषा देवतेत्युक्तार्थम् । एतासां वागादीनां देव- तानाम्, पाप्मानं मृत्युम्— स्वाभाविकाज्ञानप्रयुक्तेन्द्रियवि- षयसंसर्गसङ्गजनितेन हि पाप्मना सर्वो म्रियते, स ह्यतो
In plain words
It has been stated that death becomes far removed from one who possesses this knowledge. How does this happen? Because true knowledge contradicts egoistic attachment. The clinging to sense objects, which constitutes evil, stands opposed to the realization of prāna, as it dispels natural ignorance. Thus, it is entirely fitting that death stays far from the knower, due to this fundamental contradiction. This is precisely what is next demonstrated.
The expression 'That indeed is this divinity' has already been explained. Regarding the sin and death of these speech and other sensory deities—for every ordinary person dies through that very evil born of natural ignorance and attachment to sense objects...
Close to the Sanskrit
'That indeed is this divinity... death becomes far indeed from this person' has been stated. How does death become distant from such a knower? It is answered: because of the contradiction with such knowledge; for the attachment of contact with sense objects, which is evil, is contradicted in one who identifies the self with prāna, because it is the cause of specific self-identification with speech and the cause of natural ignorance; for the identification with prāna is born from scripture. Therefore, it is appropriate that evil becomes distant from such a knower, due to contradiction. This very thing he demonstrates—
'That indeed is this divinity' has its meaning explained. Of these divinities, speech and others, the sin and death—for everyone dies by that sin produced by attachment to sense-object contact prompted by natural ignorance, he indeed hence...
Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣadbhāṣyam· Leaf 8.75· bhāṣya
मृत्युः— तम्, प्राणात्माभिमानरूपाभ्यो देवताभ्यः, अपच्छिद्य अपहृत्य,— प्राणात्माभिमानमात्रतयैव प्राणोऽपहन्तेत्युच्यते ; विरोधादेव तु पाप्मैवंविदो दूरं गतो भवति ; किं पुनश्चकार देवतानां पाप्मानं मृत्युमपहृत्येत्युच्यते— यत्र यस्मिन्, आसां प्राच्यादीनां दिशाम्, अन्तः अवसानम्, तत् तत्र, गमयांचकार गमनं कृतवानित्येतत् । ननु नास्ति दिशामन्तः, कथमन्तं गमितवानिति ; उच्यते— श्रौतविज्ञानवज्जनावाधिनिमित्तकल्पितत्वादिशां तद्विरोधिजनाध्युषित एव देशो दिशामन्तः, देशान्तोऽरण्यमिति यद्वत्; इत्यदोषः । तत्तत्र गमयित्वा, आसां देवतानाम्, पाप्मन इति द्वितीयाबहुवचनम्, विन्यदधात् विविधं न्यग्भावेनाद्धात्स्थापितवती, प्राणदेवता ; प्राणात्माभिमानशून्येष्वन्त्यजनेष्विति सामर्थ्यात् ; इन्द्रियसंसर्गजो हि स इति प्राण्याश्रयतावगम्यते । तस्मात्तमन्यं जनम्, नैयात् न गच्छेत् संभाषणदर्शनादिभिर्न संसृजेत् ; तत्संसर्गे पाप्मना संसर्गः कृतः स्यात् ; पाप्माश्रयो हि सः ; तज्जननिवासं चान्तं दिगन्तशब्दवाच्यम्, नेयात्—जनशून्यमपि, जनमपि तद्देशवियुक्तम्, इत्यभिप्रायः । नेदिति परिभयार्थे निपातः ; इत्थं जनसंसर्गे, पाप्मानं मृत्युम्, अन्ववायानीति— अनु अव अयानीति अनुगच्छेयमिति ; एवं भीतो न जनमन्तं चेयादिति पूर्वेण संबन्धः ॥
In plain words
After stripping away sin and death from the sensory deities, the prāna deity deposited that evil in the borderlands—the remote places inhabited by uncultured people who lack awareness of prāna, for sin originates from sense contact and requires a human locus. Because such people are the abode of sin, one should not associate with them through speech or sight, nor visit their remote settlements, fearing contamination. Thus, filled with caution lest one incur that evil, one should avoid such contact altogether.
Close to the Sanskrit
Death—having cut off and taken away that from the deities in the form of prāna identification, prāna is said to destroy because evil is distant from such a knower due to contradiction; what further is meant by 'having taken away the sin and death of the deities'? Where, in which end of these eastern and other directions, there it caused to go, meaning made the going. Objection: there is no end of directions, how could it cause to go to the end? Answer: since directions are imagined due to human obstruction akin to shruti knowledge, the place inhabited by people opposed to that is the end of directions, just like the forest is the end of the country; thus there is no fault. Having caused it to go there, the prāna deity placed down the sin of these deities in various ways, establishing it in a humbled state among outcaste people devoid of prāna self-identification, because sin arises from sense contact, it is understood to have living creatures as its locus. Therefore, one should not approach or go to that other person, should not associate through speech, sight, etc., for in associating with him, contact with sin would be made, since he is the abode of sin; one should not go to the habitation of such people or the limit signified by the word limit of directions, meaning even a place devoid of people or people separated from that country, this is the intention. 'Net' is a particle in the sense of intense fear: 'lest in contact with people, I might follow down sin and death,' thus frightened one should not approach a person or the limit, this is the connection with the previous.