स वा एष महानज आत्माऽन्नादो वसुदानः; विन्दते वसु य एवं वेद ॥ २४ ॥
sa vā eṣa mahānaja ātmā’nnādo vasudānaḥ; vindate vasu ya evaṃ veda || 24 ||
24. That great, birthless Self is the eater of food and the giver of wealth (the fruits of one’s work). He who knows It as such receives wealth (those fruits).
That great, birthless Self which has been expounded in the story of Janaka and Yājñavalkya, is the eater of all food, living in all beings, and the giver of wealth, i.e. the fruits of the actions of all, in other words, he connects all beings with the results of their respective actions. He who knows It, this birthless Self that is the eater of food and the giver of ‘wealth,’ as such, as described above, i.e. as endowed with these two attributes, eats food, as the Self of all beings, and receives wealth, the entire fruits of everybody’s actions, being their very Self. Or the meaning may be, the Self is to be meditated upon as endowed with these attributes even by a man who wants visible results. By that meditation he becomes the eater of food and the receiver of wealth; that is to say, he is thereby connected with visible results, viz. with the power to eat (plenty of) food and with cows, horses, etc.