तदेष श्लोको भवति अर्वाग्बिलश्चमस ऊर्ध्वबुध्नस्तस्मिन् यशो निहितं विश्वरूपम् ।तस्यासत ऋषयः सप्त तीरे वागष्टमी ब्रह्मणा संविदानेति ।अर्वाग्बिलश्चमस ऊर्ध्वबुध्न इति ।इदं तच्छरीर एष ह्यर्वाग्बिलश्चमस ऊर्ध्वबुध्नः ।तस्मिन् यशो निहितं विश्वरूपमिति ।प्राणा वै यशो विश्वरूपम् ।प्राणानेतदाह ।तस्यासत ऋषयः सप्त तीर इति ।प्राणा वा ऋषयः ।प्राणाणेतदाह ।वागष्टमी ब्रह्मणा संविदानेति ।वाग्घ्यष्टमी ब्रह्मणा संवित्ते ॥बृह. २,२.३ ॥
In plain words
On this there is this verse: "There is a cup with its mouth below and its bottom above; in it is set glory of every form. On its rim sit seven seers, and speech as the eighth is joined with Brahman." "There is a cup with its mouth below and its bottom above" — that is this head, for it is a cup with its mouth below and its bottom above. "In it is set glory of every form" — the breaths are glory of every form; he speaks of the breaths. "On its rim sit seven seers" — the breaths are the seers; he speaks of the breaths. "And speech as the eighth is joined with Brahman" — for speech as the eighth is joined with Brahman.
The commentators
Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣadbhāṣyam· Leaf 8.295· avatāraṇikā
तदेष श्लोको भवति । अर्वाग्बिलश्च-
In plain words
On this, there is a verse, and it opens like this: ‘the opening faces down, and...’
Close to the Sanskrit
On this point, there is this verse: 'And the hole faces downward—'
Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣadbhāṣyam· Leaf 8.297· bhāṣya
प्राणा वै यशो विश्वरूपम्- प्राणाः, श्रोत्रादयः वायवश्च मरुतः सप्तधा तेषु प्रसृताः यशः-इत्येतदाह मन्त्रः, शब्दा- विज्ञानहेतुत्वात् । तस्यासत ऋषयः सप्त तीर इति-प्राणाः परिस्पन्दात्मकाः, त एव च ऋषयः, प्राणानेेतदाह मन्त्रः । वागष्टमी ब्रह्मणा संविदानेति- ब्रह्मणा संवादं कुर्वन्ती अ- ष्टमी भवति ; तद्धेतुमाह- वागष्टमी ब्रह्मणां संवित्त इति ॥
In plain words
'The breaths themselves are fame, wearing every form' — the senses that begin with hearing, and the winds, the Maruts, spread out sevenfold among them: that is what the mantra means by fame, because they are what makes the knowing of sound possible at all. 'On its rim sat the seven seers' — the breaths, which are nothing but pulsation, restless movement itself, are those very seers; that is what the mantra is pointing to. 'Speech is the eighth, in communion with Brahman' — she earns the name eighth by carrying on a conversation with Brahman; and here is the reason given: 'Speech is the eighth, known together with the sacred utterances.'
Close to the Sanskrit
'The breaths, indeed, are fame, of every form' — the breaths, that is, the senses beginning with hearing, and the winds, the Maruts, spread sevenfold among them, are 'fame'; this the mantra states, because they are the cause of the cognition of sound. 'Of that, the seven seers sat on the rim' — the breaths, of the nature of pulsation, are themselves those very seers; this the mantra states with reference to the breaths. 'Speech is the eighth, in communion with Brahman' — she becomes the eighth by carrying on a dialogue with Brahman; he states the reason for that: 'Speech is the eighth, known together with the sacred utterances.'