तौ ह प्रजापतिरुवाच साध्वलंकृतौ सुवसनौ परिष्कृतौ भूत्वोदशरावेऽवेक्षेथामिति तौ ह साध्वलंकृतौ सुवसनौ परिष्कृतौ भूत्वोदशरावेऽवेक्षांचक्राते तौ ह प्रजापतिरुवाच किं पश्यथ इति ॥ ८.८.२ ॥
In plain words
Prajāpati said to them, "Adorn yourselves well, put on fine clothes and make yourselves neat, and then look into the bowl of water." They adorned themselves well, put on fine clothes and made themselves neat, and looked into the bowl of water. Prajāpati said to them, "What do you see?"
The commentators
Chāndogyopaniṣadbhāṣyam· Leaf 7.325· avatāraṇikā
तौ ह पुनः प्रजापतिरुवाच च्छायात्मनिश्चयापनयाय-
In plain words
Prajāpati spoke to them once again, specifically to dispel their mistaken conviction that the shadow-reflection is the true self.
Close to the Sanskrit
Prajāpati spoke to those two again, for the removal of the certainty of the shadow-self.
Chāndogyopaniṣadbhāṣyam· Leaf 7.326· bhāṣya
साध्वलंकृतौ यथा स्वगृहे सुवसनौ महार्हवस्त्रपरिधानौ परि- ष्कृतौ च्छिन्नलोमनखौ च भूत्वा उदशरावे पुनरीक्षेथामिति । इह च न आदिदेश-यदज्ञातं तन्मे प्रब्रूतम इति । कथं पुन- रनेन साध्वलंकारादि कृत्वा उदशरावे अवेक्षणेन तयोश्छा- यात्मग्रहोऽपनीतः स्यात् ? साध्वलंकारसुवसनादीनामागन्तु- कानां छायाकरत्वमुदशरावे यथा शरीरसंबद्धानाम् , एवं श- रीरस्यापि च्छायाकरत्वं पूर्वं बभूवेति गम्यते ; शरीरैकदेशा- नां च लोमनखादीनां नित्यत्वेन अभिप्रेतानामखण्डितानां छायाकरत्वं पूर्वमासीत् ; छिन्नेषु च नैव लोमनखादिच्छाया दृश्यते ; अतः लोमनखादिवच्छरीरस्याप्यागमापायित्वं सि- द्धमिति उदशरावादौ दृश्यमानस्य तन्निमित्तस्य च देहस्य अनात्मत्वं सिद्धम् ; उदशरावादौ छायाकरत्वात् , देहसं- बद्धालंकारादिवत् । न केवलमेतावत् , एतेन यावत्किंचि- दात्मीयत्वाभिमतं सुखदुःखरागद्वेषमोहादि च कादाचि- त्कत्वात् नखलोमादिवदनात्मेति प्रत्येत्तव्यम् । एवमशेषमि- ध्याग्रहापनयनिमित्ते साध्वलंकारादिदृष्टान्ते प्रजापतिनोक्ते, श्रुत्वा तथा कृतवतोरपि च्छायात्मविपरीतग्रहो नापजगाम यस्मात् , तस्मात् स्वदोषेणैव केनचित्प्रतिबद्धविवेकविज्ञानौ इन्द्रविरोचनौ अभूतामिति गम्यते । तौ पूर्ववदेव दृढ- निश्चयौ पप्रच्छ-किं पश्यथः इति ॥
In plain words
Having adorned themselves finely as if in their own homes—well-clothed in costly garments, thoroughly groomed with trimmed hair and nails—they were told: 'Look into the water-vessel again.' Prajāpati did not explicitly command them to explain whatever they found obscure. How could this simple act of looking into a water-vessel while adorned dispel their mistaken belief that the shadow was the self?
Close to the Sanskrit
Well-adorned, as in their own house, well-clothed, wearing costly garments, thoroughly groomed, and having become with trimmed hair and nails, 'look into the water-vessel again', thus. And here he did not instruct: 'what is unknown, explain that to me'. How then by this, having done good adornments and the like, by looking into the water-vessel, could the notion of the shadow as the self of those two be removed?...