तं चेद्ब्रूयुर्यदिदमस्मिन्ब्रह्मपुरे दहरं पुण्डरीकं वेश्म दहरोऽस्मिन्नन्तराकाशः किं तदत्र विद्यते यदन्वेष्टव्यं यद्वाव विजिज्ञासितव्यमिति स ब्रूयात् ॥ ८.१.२ ॥
In plain words
If they should say to him, "In this city of Brahman there is a small lotus dwelling and within it a small space; what is there in it to be sought out, what indeed to be understood?" — let him say:
The commentators
Chāndogyopaniṣadbhāṣyam· Leaf 7.285
तं चेद्ब्रूयुर्यदिदमस्मिन्ब्रह्मपुरे दहरं पु- ण्डरीकं वेश्म दहरोऽस्मिन्नन्तराकाशः किं तदत्र विद्यते यदन्वेष्टव्यं यद्वाव विजिज्ञासितव्यमिति स ब्रूयात् ॥ २ ॥
तं चेत् एवमुक्तवन्तमाचार्यं यदि ब्रूयुः अन्तेवासिनश्चो- दयेयुः ; कथम् ? यदिदमस्मिन्ब्रह्मपुरे परिच्छिन्ने अन्तः दहरं पुण्डरीकं वेश्म, ततोऽप्यन्तः अल्पतर एव आकाशः । पुण्डरीक एव वेश्मनि तावत्किं स्यात् । किं ततोऽल्पतरे खे यद्वेवेदित्याहुः । दहरोऽस्मिन्नन्तराकाशः किं तदत्र विद्यते, न किंचन विद्यत इत्यभिप्रायः । यदि नाम बदरमात्रं किमपि
In plain words
If the disciples should ask him: 'Within this city of Brahman, there is the small lotus dwelling, and within it, the small inner space. What is there inside it that is to be sought after, and that we must truly desire to know?'—then he should answer them.
If the disciples, hearing this instruction, should question their teacher, they might ask: 'How can this be? If this physical body is a limited city, and within it is only a tiny lotus-chamber, and inside that chamber is an even smaller space, what could possibly exist there? What could be found in a space so minute that you say it must be sought out and realized? In such a tiny inner void, surely nothing at all can exist.' This is the doubt they raise. After all, even if there were something inside, it could be no larger than a tiny plum...
Close to the Sanskrit
If they should say to him: 'In this city of Brahman, there is the small lotus dwelling, and there is the small inner space; what is there inside that, which is to be sought after, which is indeed to be inquired into?'—he should answer.
If the disciples should say to that teacher who has spoken thus, and if they should question: How? 'If within this limited city of Brahman there is a small lotus-dwelling, and inside that is an even smaller space; what indeed could exist in that lotus-dwelling itself? What could exist in that even smaller space of which they say it is to be known? What is it that exists in this small inner space? Nothing whatsoever exists'—this is the intention of their objection. Even if there were something only the size of a jujube fruit...
Chāndogyopaniṣadbhāṣyam· Leaf 7.286· bhāṣya
विद्यते, किं तस्यान्वेषणेन विजिज्ञासनेन वा फलं विजिज्ञासितुः स्यात्? अतः यत्तत्रान्वेष्टव्यं विजिज्ञासितव्यं वा न तेन प्रयोजनमित्युक्तवतः स आचार्यो ब्रूयादिति श्रुतेर्वचनम् ॥
In plain words
What fruit could possibly come to someone through searching or inquiring into that? Therefore, this is the declaration of the shruti regarding what the teacher should say to one who has stated that no purpose is served by what is to be sought or inquired after.
Close to the Sanskrit
Does any fruit exist for the seeker through searching or through inquiring into that? Hence, such is the utterance of the shruti that that teacher, of one who has said 'there is no purpose with that which is to be sought out or inquired after', should speak.