एतस्य वा अक्षरस्य प्रशासने गार्गि सूर्यचन्द्रमसौ विधृतौ तिष्ठतः ।एतस्य वा अक्षरस्य प्रशासने गार्गि द्यावापृथिव्यौ विधृते तिष्ठतः ।एतस्य वा अक्षरस्य प्रशासने गार्गि निमेषा मुहूर्ता अहोरात्राण्यर्धमासा मासा ऋतवः संवत्सरा इति विधृतास्तिष्ठन्ति ।एतस्य वा अक्षरस्य प्रशासने गार्गि प्राच्योऽन्या नद्यः स्यन्दन्ते श्वेतेभ्यः पर्वतेभ्यः प्रतीच्योऽन्या यां यां च दिशमनु ।एतस्य वा अक्षरस्य प्रशासने गार्गि मनुष्याः प्रशसन्ति यजमानं देवा दर्वीं पितरोऽन्वायत्ताः ॥३,८.९ ॥
In plain words
At the command of this imperishable, Gārgī, the sun and the moon stand held apart. At the command of this imperishable, Gārgī, the sky and the earth stand held apart. At the command of this imperishable, Gārgī, moments and hours, days and nights, half-months, months, seasons and years stand held apart. At the command of this imperishable, Gārgī, some rivers flow eastward from the white mountains and others westward, each in its own direction. At the command of this imperishable, Gārgī, men praise the giver, the gods depend upon the sacrificer and the fathers upon the offering ladle.
The commentators
Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣadbhāṣyam· Leaf 9.113· bhāṣya
अनेकविशेषणप्रतिषेधप्रयासात् अस्तित्वं तावदक्षरस्योप- गमितं श्रुत्या; तथापि लोकबुद्धिमपेक्ष्य आशङ्क्यते यतः, अतोऽस्तित्वाय अनुमानं प्रमाणमुपन्यस्यति — एतस्य वा अक्षरस्य । यदेतदधिगतमक्षरं सर्वान्तरं साक्षादपरोक्षाद्ब्रह्म, य आत्मा अशनायादिधर्मातीतः, एतस्य वा अक्षरस्य प्रशा- सने — यथा राज्ञः प्रशासने राज्यमस्फुटितं नियतं वर्तते, एवमेतस्याक्षरस्य प्रशासने — हे गार्गि सूर्याचन्द्रमसौ, सूर्यश्च चन्द्रमाश्च सूर्याचन्द्रमसौ अहोरात्रयोर्लोकप्रदीपौ, तादर्थ्येन प्रशासित्रा ताभ्यां निर्वर्त्यमानलोकप्रयोजनविज्ञा- नवता निर्मितौ च, स्याताम्- साधारणसर्वप्राणिप्रकाशो- पकारकत्वात् लौकिकप्रदीपवत् । तस्मादस्ति तत्, येन विधृतौ ईश्वरौ स्वतन्त्रौ सन्तौ निर्मितौ तिष्ठतः नि- यतदेशकालनिमित्तोदयास्तमयवृद्धिक्षयाभ्यां वर्तेते ; त- दस्ति एवमेतयोः प्रशासितृ अक्षरम्, प्रदीपकर्तृवि- धारयितृवत् । एतस्य वा अक्षरस्य प्रशासने गार्गि द्यावापृ- थिव्यौ- द्यौश्च पृथिवी च सावयवत्वात् स्फुटनस्वभावे अपि सत्यौ गुरुत्वात्पतनस्वभावे संयुक्तत्वाद्वियोगस्वभावे चेतना- वदभिमानिदेवताधिष्ठितत्वात्स्वतन्त्रे अपि-एतस्याक्षरस्य प्र- शासने वर्तेते विधृते, तिष्ठतः ; एतद्धि अक्षरं सर्वव्यव- स्थासेतुः सर्वमर्यादाविधरणम् ; अतो नास्याक्षरस्य प्रशासनं द्यावापृथिव्यावतिक्रामतः ; तस्मात् सिद्धमस्यास्तित्वमक्षर- स्य ; अव्यभिचारि हि तल्लिङ्गम्, यत् द्यावापृथिव्यौ नियते वर्तेते ; चेतनावन्तं प्रशासितारमसंसारिणमन्तरेण नैतद्यु- क्तम्, 'येन द्यौरुग्रा पृथिवी च दृढा' इति मन्त्रवर्णात् । एतस्य वा अक्षरस्य प्रशासने गार्गि, निमेषाः मुहूर्ताः इत्येते कालावयवाः सर्वस्यातीतानागतवर्तमानस्य जनिमतः कल- यितारः- यथा लोके प्रभुणा नियतो गणकः सर्वम् आयं
In plain words
Scripture has already conceded, through all those negations, that the Imperishable exists. But ordinary reasoning still balks, so here is a further proof, an inference. Take up the phrase again: 'under the rule of this Imperishable.' This is the Imperishable already identified — the innermost reality of everything, brahman known directly, the Self beyond hunger and thirst and every such need. Under its rule: just as a kingdom stays orderly under a king, so everything stays orderly under this Imperishable. Gārgī, think of the sun and the moon, the two lamps that light day and night. They must have been made — made by a ruler who understood exactly what the world would need from them — because, like any lamp, they simply give their light to every creature alike, with no favorites. So something must exist that holds them in place: sun and moon may look like sovereign powers in their own right, yet they rise and set, wax and wane, always at a fixed place and a fixed time. That governing power is the Imperishable itself, the way a lamp needs someone to make it and keep it lit. The same is true of heaven and earth, Gārgī. They are made of parts, so by nature they could crack apart. They are heavy, so by nature they could fall. They are only joined together, so by nature they could come undone. Conscious powers preside over each of them, so they might seem to answer to no one. And yet they hold their place, under the rule of this same Imperishable. This Imperishable is the very bond that keeps all order standing, the thing that upholds every boundary there is. That is why heaven and earth never break its rule. And that is exactly how we know the Imperishable exists: its mark is unfailing, heaven and earth simply do not move from their courses. None of this makes sense without a conscious ruler, one beyond the reach of birth and death, as the old verse itself says: 'by whom the fierce sky and the firm earth are held.' And Gārgī, under that same rule, even the smallest units of time, the blink of an eye, the passing hour, measure out everything that has ever been born, whether past, present, or still to come. It works the way an accountant, appointed by his master, keeps track of every—
Close to the Sanskrit
By the effort of negating many attributes, the existence of the Imperishable has, to that extent, already been conceded by scripture; nevertheless, out of regard for ordinary understanding, a doubt is raised; therefore an inference is now set forth as proof of its existence: '[under the rule] of this Imperishable.' This Imperishable already ascertained — the innermost of all, brahman known directly and immediately, the Self beyond hunger and the like — under the rule of this Imperishable: just as, under a king's rule, the kingdom remains undisturbed and orderly, so too under the rule of this Imperishable — O Gārgī, the sun and moon, the two lamps of the world for day and night, would be fashioned, for that very purpose, by a ruler who understands the world's purpose to be achieved through them; for, like an ordinary lamp, they benefit all living beings alike by giving light. Therefore that exists by which the sun and moon, though themselves independent lords, stand held and fashioned, functioning through fixed place, time, and cause of rising, setting, waxing, and waning; the ruler of these two is indeed the Imperishable, like the maker and sustainer of a lamp. Under the rule of this Imperishable, Gārgī, heaven and earth — though by nature liable to break apart, being made of parts; though liable to fall, from their heaviness; though liable to separate, being merely joined; and though independent, being presided over by self-regarding conscious deities — nevertheless function under the rule of this very Imperishable, held fast and standing firm. For this Imperishable is the bridge of all order, the sustaining of every limit; therefore heaven and earth do not transgress its rule. Hence the existence of this Imperishable is established, for that is an unfailing mark: heaven and earth remain fixed. Without a conscious ruler free from transmigratory bondage, this would not be reasonable — as the Vedic verse attests: 'by whom the mighty sky and the firm earth are held.' Under the rule of this Imperishable, Gārgī, instants and muhūrtas, these divisions of time, are the reckoners of everything born, past, future, and present, just as, in the world, an accountant appointed by a lord reckons all income—
Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣadbhāṣyam· Leaf 9.115· bhāṣya
व्ययं च अप्रमत्तो गणयति, तथा प्रभुस्थानीय एषां का- लावयवानां नियन्ता । तथा प्राच्यः प्रागञ्चनाः पूर्वदिग्ग- मनाः नद्यः स्यन्दन्ते स्रवन्ति, श्वेतेभ्यः हिमवदादिभ्यः पर्वतेभ्यः गिरिभ्यः, गङ्गाद्या नद्यः- ताश्च यथा प्रवर्तिता एव नियताः प्रवर्तन्ते, अन्यथापि प्रवर्तितुमुत्सहन्त्यः ; तदे- तल्लिङ्गं प्रशास्तुः । प्रतीच्योऽन्याः प्रतीचीं दिशमञ्चन्ति सिन्ध्वाद्या नद्यः ; अन्याश्च यां यां दिशमनुप्रवृत्ताः, तां तां न व्यभिचरन्ति ; तच्च लिङ्गम् । किंच ददतः हिरण्यादी- न्प्रयच्छतः आत्मपीडां कुर्वतोऽपि प्रमाणज्ञा अपि मनु- ष्याः प्रशंसन्ति ; तत्र यच्च दीयते, ये च ददति, ये च प्रतिगृह्णन्ति, तेषामिहैव समागमो विलयश्च अन्व- क्षो दृश्यते ; अदृष्टस्तु परः समागमः ; तथापि मनु- ष्या ददतां दानफलेन संयोगं पश्यन्तः प्रमाणज्ञतया प्रशंसन्ति ; तच्च, कर्मफलेन संयोजयितरि कर्तुः- कर्मफलविभागज्ञे प्रशास्तरि असति, न स्यात्, दानक्रि- यायाः प्रत्यक्षविनाशित्वात् ; तस्मादस्ति दानकर्तॄणां फलेन संयोजयिता । अपूर्वमिति चेत्, न, तत्सद्भावे प्रमाणानु- पपत्तेः । प्रशास्तुरपीति चेत्, न, आगमतात्पर्यस्य सिद्ध- त्वात् ; अवोचाम हि आगमस्य वस्तुपरत्वम् । किंचान्यत्-
In plain words
And he reckons what goes out just as carefully as what comes in; that is exactly how this Imperishable governs every instant and hour, standing in the place of a master over them. Think of the rivers, too. Some flow east, straight down from the snow-capped Himalaya and its neighboring peaks, the Ganges among them, and they have kept to that same course ever since they were first set flowing, even though nothing stops a river, in principle, from wandering. That steadiness is itself a sign that something rules them. Others, like the Indus, run west, and every river, once it has taken its direction, never strays from it. That, too, is a sign. And notice this: even careful, sensible people praise a person who gives away gold and wealth, even at real cost to himself. Here is what is actually visible: the gift, the giver, the receiver -- their meeting and their parting both happen right in front of us, one right after the other. What is never visible is the deeper connection, the fruit that gift is supposed to bring later on. And yet people still praise the giver, confident of that connection, and their confidence is not blind guesswork, it is reasoned. But that confidence would make no sense unless something existed to actually join a person's action to its fruit, someone who knows exactly how to measure out what each act deserves, because the act of giving is gone the instant it happens; nothing of it remains to carry the connection forward on its own. So there must be a connector, joining every giver to what their giving earns. If you say that connector is just an unseen residue left over from the act, we answer: no such thing has ever been shown to exist. And if you say that this residue, too, would need a ruler behind it, so why not go straight to the ruler, we answer: exactly -- that is already settled, because scripture, properly understood, is always pointing us toward something real, not merely handing out commands. And there is more to say--
Close to the Sanskrit
And he reckons expenditure too, without ever slipping up; just so, this Imperishable, occupying the position of a lord, is the controller of these divisions of time. Similarly, the eastward rivers, moving toward the east, flow and stream from the white mountains beginning with the Himalaya, the peaks -- the Ganges and other such rivers; and these, just as they were once set flowing, flow on in that same fixed course, even though they would be capable of flowing otherwise; that indeed is a mark of a ruler. The westward ones, other rivers -- the Indus and the like -- move toward the western direction; and other rivers, whatever direction each has set out upon, never depart from it; that too is a mark. Moreover, people, even those who reason soundly about evidence, praise one who gives gold and other such things, even though it costs him personally; in this connection: what is given, those who give, and those who receive -- their coming together and their dissolution is seen right here, immediately after the act; but the further coming-together with its fruit is unseen. Nevertheless people, perceiving a connection between givers and the fruit of giving, praise them out of sound, reasoned conviction. And that would not be possible unless there existed, connecting the agent with the fruit of action, a ruler who knows how to apportion each act's fruit correctly -- because the act of giving visibly perishes the instant it is done. Therefore there exists a connector who joins the doers of giving with their fruit. If it is said this connector is merely an unseen potency, no -- there is no proof that such a thing exists. If it is said that even this belongs to a ruler, no -- because the true purport of scripture is already established; for we have said that scripture's ultimate concern is a real, existing entity. Furthermore, another point--