Tr. They yoke the broad and shining car, they who stand around it as it moves ; the luminous lights (worlds) gleam in heaven.
bradhnam great; aruşam shining; carantam moving (not stationary); pari all round; tasthuşaḥ standing ; yunjanti yoke; divi in heaven; rocanā shining lights; rocante gleam.
First we have given only the word meaning. The meaning following the purport will be given. Before that it is necessary to consider a little the explanation of the earlier commentators so that the coherence of the purport to be given may be easily understood.
bradhnaḥ: this is among the synonyms of the term great. Instead of saying bradhna great, Sayana's explanation has it as āditya, Sun. Everywhere generally, Sayana first gives the literal meaning and then goes on to expound the purport according to the context or gives another meaning. Thus for example, in bradhnasya mahato agneḥ, of the great Agni (3.7.5), bradhnam mahāntam babhrum asvam, the great tawny horse (7.44.3), adhi bradhnasya vistſtasya (asmanaḥ) upari, on the spread-out stone (8.4.13), udyad bradhnasya vistapam mahat (adityasya) sthānam, vast station of the Sun (8.58.7), bradhno yāmaḥ, mahān rathaḥ, large carriage, huge chariot (10.20.9). In the last illustration the term qualified yāma is there in the mantra itself. In this one Rik and elsewhere at times the term bradhna is related to Aditya in the commentary of Sayana. It is done on the strength of the line in the Brāhmaṇa, “the great Aditya, flaming Agni and moving Vayu”. In the anukramapikā this is said to be a mantra to Indra. Then how can the line from the Brāhmana fit in with this? It is held that it is Indra who is there in the form of Aditya, Agni and Vayu.
bradhnam: various are the alternates suggested for derivation. The na termination to the root bandhu by the sutra of Unadi; some say that bandh becomes bradh.
aruşam : derived from the root ruş meaning violence, it denotes non-violent Agni, says Sayana. But in several places his commentary has it as shining. Skandaswami derives from the root rus with the prefix ā, meaning to gleam; ā shortens to a and sa becomes şa. All commentators generally accept everywhere the sense of shining for the term arusa.
tasthuşaḥ: Following the commentary of Sayana the case is changed and the term is taken as nominative plural, tasthivāmsaḥ. It is apposite.
Let us consider the meaning in brief. By joining the yoke and the yoke-bearers, they make the chariot harnessed. And the chariot is large and shining. It is moving, signifying the chariot. The eternal ones of shining wisdom, fixed there, make ready the moving chariot. When the chariot is thus made ready, the lustrous high stations or worlds in the heaven are seen gleaming. The pur-port according to the inner sense will be given later.