आदित्य इति होवाच सर्वाणि ह वा इमानि भूतान्यादित्यमुच्चैः सन्तं गायन्ति सैषा देवतोद्गीथमन्वायत्ता तां चेदविद्वानुदगास्यो मूर्धा ते व्यपतिष्यत्तथोक्तस्य मयेति ॥ १.११.७ ॥
āditya iti hovāca sarvāṇi ha vā imāni bhūtānyādityamuccaiḥ santaṃ gāyanti saiṣā devatodgīthamanvāyattā tāṃ cedavidvānudagāsyo mūrdhā te vyapatiṣyattathoktasya mayeti || 1.11.7 ||
7. Uṣasti said: ‘It is āditya [the sun], for all these beings pay homage to the sun, which is high above. Āditya is that deity to whom the udgītha is addressed. If you had sung the udgītha not knowing the deity to whom it is addressed, your head would surely have fallen, as I had told you’.
Word-for-word explanation:
Ādityaḥ iti ha uvāca, [Uṣasti] said, it is āditya [the sun]; ha vai for; imāni sarvāṇi bhūtāni, all these beings [moving and unmoving]; uccaiḥ santam ādityam gāyanti, sing in praise of āditya, who is high above; sā eṣā devatā, that [āditya] is the deity; udgītham anvāyattā, the udgītha is addressed to; cet, if; tām, that [deity]; avidvān, from ignorance;’ udgāsyaḥ you had sung the udgītha; [then] tathā, like that; mayā uktasya, in spite of being warned by me; te mūrdhā vyapatiṣyat iti, your head would surely have fallen.
Commentary:
Earlier, prāṇa was described as the deity of the prastāva. The word prāṇa begins with pra, and prastāva also begins with pra. It is surmised that this is why prāṇa is the deity of the prastāva.
By the same token, the udgītha is addressed to āditya, the sun, for āditya is urdhatva, which is ut (high), and udgītha is also ut. Therefore it is reasonable that the deity of the udgītha should be āditya.