Verse 1.8.5

अपां का गतिरित्यसौ लोक इति होवाचामुष्य लोकस्य का गतिरिति न स्वर्गं लोकमिति नयेदिति होवाच स्वर्गं वयं लोकं सामाभिसंस्थापयामः स्वर्गसंस्तावंहि सामेति ॥ १.८.५ ॥

apāṃ kā gatirityasau loka iti hovācāmuṣya lokasya kā gatiriti na svargaṃ lokamiti nayediti hovāca svargaṃ vayaṃ lokaṃ sāmābhisaṃsthāpayāmaḥ svargasaṃstāvaṃhi sāmeti || 1.8.5 ||

5. [Śilaka:] ‘What is the support of water?’ [Dālbhya:] ‘That world, heaven.’ [Śilaka:] ‘What is the support of that world?’ [Dālbhya:] ‘Don’t go beyond that heaven. We know Sāma is in heaven, and this is why Sāma is respected as heaven’.

Word-for-word explanation:

Apām kā gatiḥ iti, what is the support of water; asau lokaḥ, that world [i.e., heaven]; iti ha uvāca, said [Dālbhya]; amuṣya lokasya kā gatiḥ iti, what is the support of that heaven; svargam lokam na atinayet iti ha uvāca, one should not go beyond that heaven, replied [Dālbhya]; svargam lokam, in that heavenly world; vayam sāma abhisaṃsthāpayāmaḥ, we install Sāma; svargasaṃstāvam hi sāma iti, this Sāma is worshipped as heaven.

Commentary:

The next question Śilaka asked was about the support of water. To this Dālbhya replied, ‘That world—that is, heaven.’ Rain is said to come from heaven, so that is why heaven is called the support. But what supports heaven? When Śilaka put this question, Dālbhya replied that the question was irrelevant. There is nothing beyond heaven. Heaven is the ultimate. It is the real resort of Sāma. And this is why we say that Sāma is in heaven and why the scriptures show the same respect to heaven as to Sāma.