वेत्थ यथेमाः प्रजाः प्रयत्यो विप्रतिपद्यन्ता3 इति; नेति होवाच; वेत्थो यथेमं लोकं पुनरापद्यन्ता3 इति; नेति हैवोवाच; वेत्थो यथासौ लोक एवं बहुभिः पुनःपुनः प्रयद्भिर्न संपूर्यता3 इति; नेति हैवोवाच; वेत्थो यतिथ्यामाहुत्यां हुतायामापः पुरुषवाचो भूत्वा समुत्थाय वदन्ती3 इति; नेति हैवोवाच; वेत्थो देवयानस्य वा पथः प्रतिपदं पितृयाणस्य वा—यत्कृत्वा देवयानं वा पन्थानं प्रतिपद्यन्ते, पितृयाणं वा? अपि हि न ऋषेर्वचः श्रुतम्—
द्वे सृती अशृणवं पितृणामहं देवानामुत मर्त्यानाम्,
ताभ्यामिदं विश्वमेजत्समेति, यदन्तरा पितरं मातरं च ॥ इति ।
नाहमत एकं चन वेदेति होवाच ॥ २ ॥vettha yathemāḥ prajāḥ prayatyo vipratipadyantā3 iti; neti hovāca; vettho yathemaṃ lokaṃ punarāpadyantā3 iti; neti haivovāca; vettho yathāsau loka evaṃ bahubhiḥ punaḥpunaḥ prayadbhirna saṃpūryatā3 iti; neti haivovāca; vettho yatithyāmāhutyāṃ hutāyāmāpaḥ puruṣavāco bhūtvā samutthāya vadantī3 iti; neti haivovāca; vettho devayānasya vā pathaḥ pratipadaṃ pitṛyāṇasya vā—yatkṛtvā devayānaṃ vā panthānaṃ pratipadyante, pitṛyāṇaṃ vā? api hi na ṛṣervacaḥ śrutam—
dve sṛtī aśṛṇavaṃ pitṛṇāmahaṃ devānāmuta martyānām,
tābhyāmidaṃ viśvamejatsameti, yadantarā pitaraṃ mātaraṃ ca || iti |
nāhamata ekaṃ cana vedeti hovāca || 2 ||2. ‘Do you know how these people diverge after death?’ ‘No,’ said he. ‘Do you know how they return to this world?’ ‘No,’ said he. ‘Do you know how the other world is never filled by so many people dying thus again and again?’ ‘No,’ said he. ‘Do you know after how many oblations are offered water (the liquid offerings) rises up possessed of a human voice (or under the name of man) and speaks?’ ‘No,’ said he. ‘Do you know the means of access to the way of the gods, or that to the way of the Manes—doing which people attain either the way of the gods or the way of the Manes? We have heard the words of the Mantra: “I have heard of two routes for men, leading to the Manes and the gods. Going along them all this is united. They lie between the father and the mother (earth and heaven).”’ He said, ‘I know not one of them.’
‘Well then, do you know how these familiar people diverge after death? The prolongation of the final accent in the verb suggests deliberation. ‘While going along the same route they come to a point where the roads split; some take the one, and some the other; this is the divergence. Do you know how these people are divided?’—this is the idea. ‘No,’ said the other. ‘Then do you know how they return to this world?’ ‘No,’ said Śvetaketu. ‘Do you know how the other world is never filled by so many people dying thus, in the familiar way, again and again?’ ‘No,’ said he. ‘Do you know after how many oblations are offered water rises up, appears perfectly, possessed of a human voice (or under the name of man) and speaks?’ This happens when it takes a human form. ‘No,’ said he. ‘Very well. But do you know the means of access to the way of the gods, or that to the way of the Manes—in other words, the kind of (ritualistic) work doing which people attain either the way of the gods or the way of the Manes?’ The latter part of the sentence explains the word ‘Pratipad’ (means of. access). That is to say, do you know the means of attaining the two worlds?
‘We have heard the words of the Mantra that express this sense.’ That is, there is a Mantra too expressing this idea. What is that Mantra? It is this: I have heard of two routes. One of them leads to the Manes, is connected with the world of the Manes; that is, one attains the world of the Manes through that way.—The word ‘Aham’ (I) agrees with the verb ‘Aśṛṇavam’ (have heard), which is separated by the word ‘Pitṛṇām.’—And another is related to the gods; it leads to the gods. Who go by those two routes to the Manes and the gods? This is being answered: For, or relating to, men. That is, men only go by those routes. Going along those two routes all this[4] is united; and those two routes lie between the father and the mother. Who are they? The two halves of the shell of the universe consisting of heaven and earth. The Brāhmaṇa gives the following explanation of the words: ‘This (earth) is the mother, and that (heaven) is the father’ (Ś. XIII. ii. ix. 7; Tai. B. III. viii. ix. 1). These two routes are within the two halves of the universe and hence belong to the relative world. They cannot lead to absolute immortality. Śvetaketu said, ‘I know not one of this set of questions.’