Word meanings
- aham
- I
- vaiśvānaraḥ
- fire of digestion
- bhūtvā
- becoming
- prāṇinām
- of all living beings
- deham
- the body
- āśritaḥ
- situated
- prāṇa-apāna
- outgoing and incoming breath
- samāyuktaḥ
- keeping in balance
- pacāmi
- I digest
- annam
- foods
- catuḥ-vidham
- the four kinds
Translations
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.
Becoming the fire of life, I pass into their bodies and, uniting with the vital streams of Prāṇa and Apāna, I digest the various kinds of food.
Taking the form of Vaisvanara, and residing in the bodies of creatures, I, in association with Prana and Apana, digest the four kinds of food.
प्राणियोंके शरीरमें रहनेवाला मैं प्राण-अपानसे युक्त वैश्वानर होकर चार प्रकारके अन्नको पचाता हूँ।Commentary
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 Prithivi-Annam (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।।This fire which is within man and by which the food is digested is Vaisvanara.
(Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 5.9.1)He who thinks or meditates and feels that the Vaisvanara fire is the eater, that the food eaten by the fire is the Soma (moon) and that the two together form Agni-Soma is not contaminated by the impurities in the food. He who meditates before he takes his food that the whole world which is in the form of eater and eaten is made up of Agni and Soma, is not tainted by the evil arising from eating bad food. Repeat this verse daily before you take your food.
You will be free from all taints of impurity in food.