Unmoving, One, swifter than the mind — the gods could not reach It for It ran ahead. Standing still, It outstrips those who run. In It, Mātariśvā sustains the waters.

This verse begins a series of paradoxes describing the nature of Brahman, the Absolute.

Anejat ekam — unmoving, one. Anejat comes from a-ejat, that which does not tremble, does not move. Brahman is absolute stillness, the immutable ground of all existence.

Manaso javīyaḥ — swifter than the mind. Here is the first paradox: the unmoving is the fastest. The mind travels instantly to any imagined place, but Brahman is already there, pūrvam arṣat — It ran ahead.

Na enat devāḥ āpnuvan — the gods could not reach It. Not even celestial beings can comprehend or capture Brahman through effort.

Tad dhāvataḥ anyān atyeti tiṣṭhat — standing still, It outstrips those who run. Second paradox: without moving, It transcends everything. The stillness of the Self is more powerful than any movement.

Tasmin apaḥ mātariśvā dadhāti — in It, Mātariśvā (the wind, Vāyu, or cosmic prāṇa) sustains the waters. All the functioning of the cosmos — represented by wind and waters, the fundamental elements — depends on and occurs within Brahman.

This verse invites meditation: what is that which is ever still while everything moves?