Bṛhad-āraṇyaka upaniṣad 1:1:2

The beginning of this verse is quite complex, so I'll break it down word by word. You'll realise why commentaries written by experts are indispensable! And why it is necessary to refer to more than one, to work out what is going on. At the same time, why should you depend on pre-digested, pre-interpreted texts alone? Learning Sanskrit  helps me interpret and choose the version best suited to my 'self'. Perhaps it will do the same for you...Below I give you four expert interpretations of the same sentence. 

The syntax is obscure and can be read in a variety of ways. This is one of the reasons that every school, every sect in Hinduism has been able to interpret in their own way and draw succour from the same scripture. For this particular verse, I 'vibe' best with S. Radhakrishan's translation.

अहर्वा अश्वं पुरस्तान्महिमान्वाजायत 

Ahar vā aśvam purastān mahimān vajāyata

अहः वा अश्वम्  पुरस्तात् महिमान् वाजयत  

अहः - day; neuter noun अहन्  

वा - indeed, verily; on its own, it stresses the word preceding; it could mean 'or' and if it appears twice in the sentence, it means 'either, or'. 

अश्वम् - horse; masc. noun. here in the accusative. Normally meaning 'to the horse' (horse को), the second case sometimes is used like the dative 'for the horse'   

पुरस्तात् - as an adverb, means firstly, initially; as an indeclinable it means in front of before; in or from the east, eastward. [Because in their world view, the East was always 'before' them, ahead of them]

महिमान् - a golden sacrificial cup that is placed before the horse in the aśvamedha ceremony

वाजयत - past tense of √वाजय 1A to worship; to race, hasten; to urge, incite, impel 

The interpretation of this sentence seems to hinge on how you translate 'वा' पुरस्तात् वाजय and which case function you take for the accusative in अश्वम् 

S. Radhakrishnan's translation:

The day verily arose for the horse, as the vessel called mahiman appeared in front (of the horse). [appeared is supplied by SR]

Patrick Olivelle: 

The day, clearly, was born afterwards to be the sacrificial cup placed in front of the horse.

Sri Aurobindo:

Day was the grandeur that was borne before the horse as he galloped. [galloped is supplied by SA]

Swami Madhavananda:

The (gold) vessel called Mahiman in front of the horse, which appeared about it (i.e. pointing it out) is the day. [appeared supplied by SM]

And now the rest of the verse from S. Radhakrishnan:

Its (the day's) source is in the eastern sea (तस्य पूर्वे समुद्रे योनिः) The night verily arose for the horse, as the vessel called mahiman appeared behind (the horse). Its source is in the western sea (तस्यापरे समुद्रे योनिः) These two (एतौ ) verily arose (संबभूवतुः) on the two sides (अभितः) of the horse as the two sacrificial vessels (महिमानौ). Becoming a steed (हयः) he carried (अवहत्)  the gods (देवान्); as a stallion (वाजी)  the gandharvas; as a runner (अर्वा)  the demons (असुरान्), as a horse (अश्व:), men (मनुष्यान्) . The sea indeed is his relative (बंधु:)*, the sea is his source (योनिः)

And Patrick Olivelle's translation:

The day, clearly, was born afterwards to be the sacrificial cup placed in front of the horse, and its womb is in the eastern sea.  The night was born afterwards to be the sacrificial cup placed behind the horse, and its womb is in the western sea. These two came into being to be the sacrificial cups placed in front of and behind the horse. It became a racer and carried the gods. It became a charger and carried the gandharvas. It became a course and carried the demons. It became a horse and carried the humans. The sea, indeed, is its counterpart; the sea is its womb.


*बंधु: is translated in different versions as relative, brother, counterpart.

A quick word about the numbering, for those who are not familiar with it. In 1.1.2, the first 1 refers to the chapter or अध्याय।The next 1 refers to the hymn or ब्राह्मण and last digit refers to the verse. This the, was the second verse of the first hymn of the first chapter of the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka upaniṣad.

The visual from google images is a coin minted during the Gupta period to commemorate the Aśvamedha performed by Samudragupta, (c.335-375 AD). On the left is the tethered horse, and on the right, the queen carrying the ritual equipment.

Bṛhad-āraṇyaka upaniṣad 1:1:1

Bṛhad-āraṇyaka upaniṣad is the concluding section of the Śatapatha brāhmaṇa of the white (vājasaneyi) yajurveda. By tradition and on linguistic grounds, it is considered the oldest, and is the most important of the upaniṣad. Even the most conservative scholarly opinion places it at c. 800 B.C.E. 

The opening verse outlines the equivalence between the sacrificial horse and the cosmos. The anatomical detail and cosmic equivalence clearly marks a transition from the sacrificial tradition (karma-kāṇḍa) to the pursuit of knowledge (jñana kāṇḍa) in the Brāhmiṇical scriptures.

Vājasaneyi is the patronymic of the sage Yajñavalkya, who tradition has it, founded this school. He plays a central role in propounding some of the key ideas of the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka upaniṣad, which were to inform Uttara Mimāṃsā (Vedānta) thinking centuries later. The text has been preserved in two rescensions - the Mādhyandhina and the Kāṇva. This translation comes from the Kāṇva rescension. I have taken the support of S. Radhakrishnan's and Patrick Olivelle's translations. It's a tough text to comprehend, and absorb, so I'll only be doing one verse at a time. 

1.1.1 The head (शिरः) of the sacrificial horse (अश्वस्य मेधस्य) , clearly, is the dawn (उषा); its sight (चक्षु:) is the sun (सूर्य) ; its breath (प्राणः) is the wind (वातः) ; its wide open mouth (व्यात्तम्) is the fire common to all men (अग्निर्वैश्वानरः). The body (आत्मा)* of the sacrificial horse is the year (संवत्सर:); its back (पृष्ठम्)  is the sky (द्यौ) ;  its abdomen (उदरम्) is the intermediate region (अन्तरिक्षम्); its flanks (पाजस्य) are the quarters; its ribs (पार्श्वम्) are the intermediate quarters (अवान्तारादिशः) ; its limbs are the seasons; its joints (परवाणि) are the months and fortnights; its feet (प्रतिष्ठा) are the days and the nights; its bones (अस्थीनि) are the stars; its flesh (मांसानि)  is the clouds (नभ ); its stomach contents (ऊवध्यम् ) are the sand (सिकता:) ; its intestines (गुदा) are the rivers (सिन्धवः) ; its liver (यकृत्) and lungs (क्लोमानः)  are the hills; its body hairs (लोमानि) are the herbs (ओषधयः)  and the trees (वनस्पतयः) ; its fore-quarter (पूर्वार्धः)  is the rising sun (उद्यन्); and its hind-quarter (जघनार्धः) is the setting sun (निम्लोचन्). When it yawns (विजृम्भते) lightening flashes (विद्योतते); when it shakes itself (विधूनुते) it thunders (स्तनयति) ; and when it urinates (मेहती), it rains (वर्षति); its voice [neighing] indeed, is speech itself. (वागेवास्य वाक्)

* Both S. Radhakrishnan and Olivelle translate आत्मा as body.