स एष संवत्सरः प्रजापतिष्षोडशकलः ।तस्य रात्रय एव पञ्चदश कला ।ध्रुवैवास्य षोडशी कला ।स रात्रिभिरेवा च पूर्यतेऽप च क्षीयते ।सोऽमावास्यां रात्रिमेतया षोडश्या कलया सर्वमिदं प्राणभृदनुप्रविश्य ततः प्रातर्जायते ।तस्मादेतां रात्रिं प्राणभृतः प्राणं न विच्छिन्द्यादपि कृकलासस्यैतस्या एव देवताया अपचित्यै ॥१,५.१४ ॥
In plain words
Prajāpati is the year, and he has sixteen parts. His nights are fifteen parts, and his sixteenth part is fixed. By the nights he is filled and again diminished. On the new-moon night he enters with this sixteenth part into everything that has breath, and thence he is born again in the morning. Therefore on that night let no man cut off the breath of anything that breathes, not even of a lizard, in honour of this deity.
The commentators
Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣadbhāṣyam· Leaf 8.206· avatāraṇikā
पिता पाङ्क्तेन कर्मणा सप्तान्नानि सृष्ट्वा त्रीण्यन्नान्यात्मार्थमकरोदित्युक्तम् ; तान्येतानि पाङ्क्तकर्मफलभूतानि व्याख्यातानि ; तत्र कथं पुनः पाङ्क्तस्य कर्मणः फलमेतानीति उच्यते— यस्मात्तेष्वपि त्रिष्वन्नेषु पाङ्क्तता अवगम्यते, वित्तकर्मणोरपि तत्र संभवात् ; तत्र पृथिव्यग्नी माता, दिवादित्यौ पिता, योऽयमनयोरन्तरा प्राणः स प्रजेति व्याख्यातम् । तत्र वित्तकर्मणी संभावयितव्ये इत्यारम्भः—
In plain words
It has already been stated that the Creator, having formed seven kinds of food through a fivefold ritual, set aside three for his own personal use. These very three have been explained as the fruits of that fivefold action. Now, an objection is raised: how can these three be considered the result of a fivefold process? The answer is given that a fivefold structure is indeed recognizable even within those three foods, because wealth and ritual action are both possible there. Earth and fire constitute the mother, day and sun constitute the father, and the vital breath residing between them is the progeny—as has already been taught. To show that wealth and ritual action must be recognized here as well, the text now begins its elaboration.
Close to the Sanskrit
The father, having created seven foods by fivefold action, made three foods for his own sake, it has been said; those very ones, functioning as the fruits of fivefold action, have been explained. There, how again can these be the fruit of fivefold action, it is asked—because fivefoldness is perceived even in those three foods, due to the possibility of wealth and action there too. There, earth and fire are the mother, day and sun are the father, and this breath situated between these two is progeny, it has been explained. There, wealth and action are to be conceived, hence the commencement.
Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣadbhāṣyam· Leaf 8.207· bhāṣya
स एष संवत्सरः— योऽयं त्र्यन्नात्मा प्रजापतिः प्रकृतः, स एष संवत्सरात्मना विशेषतो निर्दिश्यते । षोड- शकलः षोडश कला अवयवा अस्य सोऽयं षोडशकलः संवत्सरः संवत्सरात्मा कालरूपः । तस्य च कालात्मनः प्रजापतेः रात्रय एव अहोरात्राणि- तिथय इत्यर्थः- पञ्च- दश कलाः । ध्रुवैव नित्यैव व्यवस्थिता अस्य प्रजापतेः षोडशी षोडशानां पूरणी कला । रात्रिभिरेव तिथिभिः कलोक्ताभिः आपूर्यते च अपक्षीयते च प्रतिपदाद्याभिर्हि चन्द्रमाः प्रजापतिः शुक्लपक्ष आपूर्यते कलाभिरुपचीयमाना- भिर्वर्धते यावत्सम्पूर्णमण्डलः पौर्णमास्याम् ; ताभिरेवापची- यमानाभिः कलाभिरपक्षीयते कृष्णपक्षे यावद्ध्रुवैका कला व्यवस्थिता अमावास्यायाम् । स प्रजापतिः कालात्मा अमा- वास्याम् अमावास्यायाम् रात्रिं रात्रौ या व्यवस्थिता ध्रुवा कलोक्ता एतया षोडश्या कलया सर्वमिदं प्राणभृत् प्राणि- जातम् अनुप्रविश्य- यदपः पिबति यच्चौषधीरश्नाति तत्स- र्वमेव ओषध्यात्मना सर्वं व्याप्य- अमावास्यां रात्रिंमव- स्थाय ततोऽपरेद्युः प्रातर्जायते द्वितीयया कलया संयुक्तः । एवं पाङ्क्तात्मकोऽसौ प्रजापतिः- दिवादिौ मनः पिता, पृथिव्यग्नी वाक् जाया माता, तयोश्च प्राणः प्रजा, चान्द्र- मस्यस्तिथयः कला वित्तम्- उपचयापचयधर्मित्वात् वित्त- वत्, तासां च कलानां कालावयवानां जगत्परिणामहेतुत्वं कर्म; एवमेष कृत्स्नः प्रजापतिः- जाया मे स्यात्, अथ प्रजायेय, अथ वित्तं मे स्यात्, अथ कर्म कुर्वीय- इत्ये- षणानुरूप एव पाङ्क्तस्य कर्मणः फलभूतः संवृत्तः; कार- णानुविधायि हि कार्यमिति लोकेऽपि स्थितिः । यस्मादेष चन्द्र एतां रात्रिं सर्वप्राणिजातमनुप्रविष्टो ध्रुवया कलया वर्तते, तस्माद्धेतोः एताममावास्यां रात्रिं प्राणभृतः प्राणिनः प्राणं न विच्छिन्द्यात्- प्राणिनं न प्रमापयेदित्येतत्- अपि कृकलासस्य- कृकलासो हि पापात्मा स्वभावेनैव हिंस्यते प्राणिभिः दृष्टोऽप्यमङ्गल इति कृत्वा । ननु प्रतिषिद्धैव प्राणिहिंसा 'अहिंसन् सर्वभूतान्यन्यत्र तीर्थेभ्यः' इति; बाढं प्रतिषिद्धा, तथापि न अमावस्याया अन्यत्र प्रतिप्र- सवार्थं वचनं हिंसायाः कृकलासविषये वा, किं तर्हि एतस्याः सोमदेवताया अपचित्यै पूजार्थम् ॥
In plain words
This very year—the creator deity presented as the embodiment of three-fold food—is specifically revealed in the form of the calendar year. Possessing sixteen parts, which are its limbs, it is the sixteen-parted year, the very essence of time. Of this time-personified creator, the nights—specifically the lunar tithis—form the fifteen variable phases. The sixteenth phase remains constant, eternal, and firmly established as the completer of the whole. Through these nights, designated as phases, the creator waxes and wanes: just as the moon swells during the bright fortnight through growing digits until its orb is full on the night of the full moon, and diminishes during the dark fortnight through those same receding phases until only the single constant digit remains on the new moon. That creator, whose very essence is time, pervades all living creatures on the night of the new moon through this sixteenth, unchanging digit. Permeating every drop of water drunk and every plant eaten as nourishment, resting through the new moon night, it is born anew at dawn conjoined with the second digit. Thus, this fivefold creator manifests through desire: heaven and day as father, earth, fire, and speech as the maternal wife, breath as offspring, and the lunar tithis as wealth—sharing the fluctuations of material possessions. The actions that drive the world's transformations complete this picture, so that the whole creator embodies the human cry: 'May I have a wife, may I have progeny, may I have wealth, may I perform sacred rites.' Truly, the effect mirrors its cause. Because the moon permeates all life on this night with its remaining constant digit, one must never sever the breath of any living creature on the new moon night—not even that of a chameleon, which people instinctively kill out of the superstition that seeing one brings bad luck. But is not all harm to living beings forbidden by the scriptural rule against injuring any creature outside of sacred rites? True, it is forbidden; yet this exception is stated not to license general violence or cruelty to chameleons, but solely as an act of reverence and worship toward the moon-deity.
Close to the Sanskrit
This same year—who is this prajapati characterized by three-fold food brought forward—is specifically pointed out in the form of the year. Having sixteen parts, sixteen parts being limbs of this one, that same one is the sixteen-parted year, the year-self, the form of time. And of that time-self prajapati, nights alone—meaning tithis—are the fifteen parts. The sixteenth, completing part of the prajapati, is constant indeed, eternal, and established. By nights alone, spoken of as digits, it is filled up and wanes; just as in the bright fortnight the moon-prajapati waxes, being filled with growing digits until it has a full orb on the full moon; and wanes by those same waning digits in the dark fortnight until the single constant digit remains on the new moon. That prajapati, the time-self, on the new moon night, in every night whatever constant digit is spoken of, by this sixteenth digit having entered into all this breathing living creation—whatever water it drinks and whatever plants it eats, pervading all that same in the form of plant-matter, staying on the new moon night, then on the next day at dawn is born joined with the second digit. Thus this fivefold prajapati—heaven and day are father, earth and fire, speech, is wife, mother, and of those breath is offspring, progeny, and lunar tithis are wealth, because of having the nature of increase and decrease like wealth, and of those digits and time-parts the cause of world-transformation is action; thus this entire prajapati—'may a wife be mine, then may I have progeny, then may wealth be mine, then may I perform action'—has thus become the fruit of action conforming to desires; for in the world too the rule is that the effect conforms to the cause. Since this moon has entered all living creation on this night and exists with the constant digit, for that reason one should not cut off the life of a living being on this new moon night—meaning one should not kill a living creature—even of a chameleon; for a chameleon is sinful by nature, killed by living beings even when seen, thinking it is inauspicious. Now, isn't harm to living beings prohibited 'one should not harm any beings except at sacred places'? True, it is prohibited; nevertheless, the statement is not for the exception of violence elsewhere or in the case of the chameleon, but rather for the honoring and worship of this moon-deity.