ब्रह्मवादिनो वदन्ति यद्वसूनां प्रातः सवनं रुद्राणां माध्यंदिनं सवनमादित्यानां च विश्वेषां च देवानां तृतीयसवनम् ॥ २.२४.१ ॥
brahmavādino vadanti yadvasūnāṃ prātaḥ savanaṃ rudrāṇāṃ mādhyaṃdinaṃ savanamādityānāṃ ca viśveṣāṃ ca devānāṃ tṛtīyasavanam || 2.24.1 ||
1. Those who believe in Brahman say: The morning savana is for the Vasus, the midday savana is for the Rudras, and the third, the evening savana, is for the Ādityas and the Viśvadevas [i.e., all the gods and goddesses].
Word-for-word explanation:
Brahmavādinaḥ, those who believe in Brahman; vadanti, say; yat vasūnām prātaḥsavanam, the morning savana [i.e., the time when the soma juice is extracted from the soma creeper for the sacrifice] is meant for the eight Vasus; mādhyandinam savanam rudrāṇām, the noon savana is meant for the eleven Rudras; tṛtīya savanam, the third [i.e., the evening] savana; ādityānām ca viśveṣām devānām, is meant for the twelve Ādityas and the Viśvadevas.
Commentary:
‘The morning savana belongs to the eight Vasus.’ This means that the Vasus control the earth. In the same way, since the midday savana belongs to the eleven Rudras, they control the interspace—the space between the earth and heaven. And as the evening savana belongs to the twelve Ādityas and the Viśvadevas, that means they control heaven. It follows then that there is no world left for the performer of the sacrifice.