अग्निर्मूर्धा चक्षुषी चन्द्रसूर्यौ दिशः श्रोत्रे वाग्विवृताश्च वेदाः ।वायुः प्राणो हृदयं विश्वमस्य पद्भ्यां पृथिवी ह्येष सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा ॥ ४ ॥
In plain words
Agni is his head, the sun and moon his eyes, the directions his ears, and the revealed Vedas his voice; Vāyu is his Prāṇa, the universe his heart, and from his feet comes the earth—he is the inner Ātma of all beings.
The commentators
Muṇḍakopaniṣadbhāṣyam
संक्षेपत परविद्याविषयमक्षर निर्विशेष पुरुष सत्यम् 'दिव्यो ह्यमूर्त ' इत्यादिना मन्त्रेणोक्त्वा, पुनस्तदेव सविशेष विस्तरेण वक्तव्यमिति प्रवृत्ते, संक्षेपविस्तरोक्तो हि पदार्थ सुखाधिगम्यो भवति सूत्रभाष्योक्तिवदिति । यो हि प्रथमजात्प्राणाद्धिरण्यगर्भाज्जायतेऽण्डस्यान्तर्विराट्,
स तत्त्वान्तरितत्त्वेन लक्ष्यमाणोऽप्येतस्मादेव पुरुषाज्जाय- त एतन्मयश्चेत्येतदर्थमाह, तं च विशिनष्टि— अग्नि र्द्युलो- क , 'असौ वाव लोको गौतमाग्नि ' इति श्रुते । मूर्धा यस्योत्तमाङ्ग शिर , चक्षुषी चन्द्रश्च सूर्यश्चेति चन्द्रसूर्यौ , य- स्येति सर्वत्रानुषङ्ग कर्तव्य अस्येत्यस्य पदस्य वक्ष्यमाणस्य यस्येति विपरिणाम कृत्वा । दिश श्रोत्रे यस्य । वाक् विवृ- ताश्च उद्घाटिता प्रसिद्धा वेदा यस्य । वायु प्राणो यस्य । हृदयम् अन्त करण विश्व समस्त जगत् अस्य यस्येत्यतत् । सर्व ह्यन्त करणविकारमेव जगत् , मनस्येव सुषुप्ते प्रलयदर्श नात् , जागरितेऽपि तत एवाभिविस्फुलिङ्गवद्विप्रतिष्ठानात् । यस्य च पद्भ्या जाता पृथिवी, एष देवो विष्णुरनन्त प्रथ- मशरीरी त्रैलोक्यदेहोपाधि सर्वेषा भूतानामन्तरात्मा । स हि सर्वभूतेषु द्रष्टा श्रोता मन्ता विज्ञाता सर्वकरणात्मा ॥
In plain words
The mantra beginning “The luminous, indeed formless” briefly revealed the Akṣara, the attributeless Puruṣa known through higher vidyā. The text now opens out the same truth through attributes, because what is first stated concisely and then expanded is easier to grasp, as in sūtra and bhāṣya. Within the cosmic egg, Virāṭ is born from Hiraṇyagarbha, the first-born Prāṇa,
Though Virāṭ seems separated from the supreme Puruṣa by another level of reality, he arises from that Puruṣa and consists of him. The text now makes this clear. Agni is the heavenly world, as the Śruti says: “That world indeed is Agni, O Gautama.” Heaven is his head, the highest limb; moon and sun are his eyes. The word “his” must be understood in each clause. The directions are his ears, the opened Vedas his speech, and air his Prāṇa. His heart is the Antaḥkaraṇa, and “the universe” is the whole world. The world is a transformation of the Antaḥkaraṇa: in deep sleep it is seen to dissolve into Manas, and on waking it streams from Manas again like sparks from a fire. The earth is born from his feet. This is the divine Viṣṇu, the infinite first embodied being, with the three worlds as his body-Upādhi. He is the Antarātman, the inner Ātman, of every being—the one who sees, hears, thinks, and knows through all their faculties.
Close to the Sanskrit
Having stated briefly, through the mantra beginning “The luminous, indeed formless,” the attributeless Akṣara, the true Puruṣa that is the object of higher vidyā, he now proceeds to tell of that same one at length with attributes; for a matter set out briefly and at length is easily understood, as with sūtra and bhāṣya. For he who is born within the cosmic egg from the first-born Prāṇa, Hiraṇyagarbha—Virāṭ,
Although marked as if separated by an intervening tattva, he is born from this very Puruṣa and is made of him; to convey this, the text speaks and further qualifies him. Agni is the heavenly world, according to the Śruti, “That world indeed is Agni, O Gautama.” Its highest limb, the head, is his head; moon and sun are his two eyes. “His” is to be carried into every clause by changing the form of the word “asya” that appears later into “yasya.” The directions are his ears. The opened and well-known Vedas are his speech. Air is his Prāṇa. His heart is the Antaḥkaraṇa; “the universe” means this whole world. For the whole world is only a modification of the Antaḥkaraṇa: its dissolution into Manas is seen in deep sleep, and in waking it again springs from Manas like sparks. From his feet the earth was born. This divine Viṣṇu, the infinite first embodied being whose body-Upādhi is the three worlds, is the Antarātman of all beings. In every being he is the seer, hearer, thinker, and knower, the Ātman of all the karaṇas.