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Bhagavad Gita · 15.14 · The Yoga of the Supreme Divine Personality·14 of 20

अहं वैश्वानरो भूत्वा प्राणिनां देहमाश्रितःप्राणापानसमायुक्तः पचाम्यन्नं चतुर्विधम्

ahaṁ vaiśhvānaro bhūtvā prāṇināṁ deham āśhritaḥ

prāṇāpāna-samāyuktaḥ pachāmy annaṁ chatur-vidham

Sanskrit recitation

The supreme person · 15.12–15.20 · Teaching

Translation

Having become the fire Vaisvanara, I abide in the bodies of living beings and, associated with the Prana and the Apana, digest the fourfold food.

Meaning

The immanence of the Lord as the gastric fire in all living beings is described in this verse.Vaisvanara The fire that abides in the stomach. This fire is fanned by the bellows of the incoming and the outgoing breaths continuously and large antities of food are digested. Inside the wonderful laboratory of the stomach I digest the food by taking the form of this gastric fire.Four kinds of food (1) Food which has to be eaten by mastication (Bhakshyam). (2) That which has to be sucked in (Bhojyam). (3) That which has to be licked (Lehyam). (4) That which has to be devoured or swallowed (Choshyam). Another classification is as follows (1) Rice is PrithiviAnnam (solid food) for human beings. (2) Water is Apyannam (watery food) for birds like the Chataka. (3) Fire is Tejasannam (hot food) for certain creatures. (4) Air is Vayvannam (air as food) for serpents.अयमग्निर्वैश्वानरो योऽयमन्तः पुरुषः येनेदमन्नं पच्यते।।

After Swami Sivananda

The supreme person· 15.12–15.20

Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.

Word-by-word
aham
I
annam
foods
deham
the body
bhūtvā
becoming
pachāmi
I digest
prāṇinām
of all living beings
āśhritaḥ
situated
samāyuktaḥ
keeping in balance
chatuḥ-vidham
the four kinds
prāṇa-apāna
outgoing and incoming breath
vaiśhvānaraḥ
fire of digestion

Related verses

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