तदेष श्लोको भवति ।
अर्वाग्बिलश्चमस ऊर्ध्वबुध्नः, तस्मिन्यशो निहितं विश्वरूपम् ।
तस्यासत ऋषयः सप्त तीरे, वागष्टमी ब्रह्मणा संविदान ॥
इति ।
‘अर्वाग्बिलश्चमस ऊर्ध्वबुध्नः’ इतीदं तच्छिरः, एष ह्यर्वाग्बिलश्चमस ऊर्ध्वबुध्नः; ‘तस्मिन्यशो निहितं विश्वरूपम्’ इति प्राण वै यशो विश्वरूपम्, प्राणानेतदाह; ‘तस्यासत ऋषयः सप्त तीरे’ इति प्राणा वा ऋषयः, प्राणानेतदाह; ‘वागष्टमी ब्रह्मणा संविदाना’ इति वागष्टमी ब्रह्मणा संवित्ते ॥ ३ ॥tadeṣa śloko bhavati |
arvāgbilaścamasa ūrdhvabudhnaḥ, tasminyaśo nihitaṃ viśvarūpam |
tasyāsata ṛṣayaḥ sapta tīre, vāgaṣṭamī brahmaṇā saṃvidāna ||
iti |
‘arvāgbilaścamasa ūrdhvabudhnaḥ’ itīdaṃ tacchiraḥ, eṣa hyarvāgbilaścamasa ūrdhvabudhnaḥ; ‘tasminyaśo nihitaṃ viśvarūpam’ iti prāṇa vai yaśo viśvarūpam, prāṇānetadāha; ‘tasyāsata ṛṣayaḥ sapta tīre’ iti prāṇā vā ṛṣayaḥ, prāṇānetadāha; ‘vāgaṣṭamī brahmaṇā saṃvidānā’ iti vāgaṣṭamī brahmaṇā saṃvitte || 3 ||3. Regarding this there is the following verse: ‘There is a bowl that has its opening below and bulges at the top; various kinds of knowledge have been put in it; seven sages sit by its side, and the organ of speech, which has communication with the Vedas, is the eighth.’ The ‘bowl that has its opening below and bulges at the top’ is this head of ours, for it is the bowl that has its opening below and bulges at the top. ‘Various kinds of knowledge have been put in it,’ refers to the organs; these indeed represent various kinds of knowledge. ‘Seven sages sit by its side,’ refers to the organs; they indeed are the sages. ‘The organ of speech, which has communication with the Vedas, is the eighth,’ because the organ of speech is the eighth and communicates with the Vedas.
Regarding this subject there is the following verse or Mantra: ‘There is a bowl that has its opening below,’ etc. Now the Śruti explains the Mantra. What is that bowl? This head of ours, for it is shaped like a bowl. How? For it has its opening below, the mouth standing for this opening, and bulges at the top, the head because of its round shape answering to the description. ‘Various kinds of knowledge have been Put in it’: Just as the Soma juice is put in the bowl, so have various kinds of knowledge been put in the head. The organs such as the ear, and the vital force, which is distributed among them in seven forms, represent various kinds of knowledge, because they are the cause of the perception of sound etc. This is what the Mantra says. ‘Seven sages sit by its side’: This portion of the Mantra refers to the organs, which are of a vibratory nature. They alone are the sages. ‘The organ of speech, which has communication with the Vedas, is the eighth.’[4] The reason for this is given: Because the organ of speech is the eighth and communicates with (or utters) the Vedas.