Bg. 15.14 · Bhagavad-gita As It Is

Devanagari

अहं वैश्वानरो भूत्वा प्राणिनां देहमाश्रित: । प्राणापानसमायुक्त: पचाम्यन्नं चतुर्विधम् ॥ १४ ॥

Verse text

ahaṁ vaiśvānaro bhūtvā prāṇināṁ deham āśritaḥ prāṇāpāna-samāyuktaḥ pacāmy annaṁ catur-vidham

Synonyms

aham — I ; vaiśvānaraḥ — My plenary portion as the digesting fire ; bhūtvā — becoming ; prāṇinām — of all living entities ; deham — in the bodies ; āśritaḥ — situated ; prāṇa — the outgoing air ; apāna — the down-going air ; samāyuktaḥ — keeping in balance ; pacāmi — I digest ; annam — foodstuff ; catuḥ-vidham — the four kinds.

Translation

I am the fire of digestion in the bodies of all living entities, and I join with the air of life, outgoing and incoming, to digest the four kinds of foodstuff.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

14. Becoming the fire of digestion, I take shelter within all beings. I digest the four types of food using the prāṇa and apāna.

Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

14. Becoming the fire of digestion, I take shelter within all beings. I digest the four types of food using the prāṇa and apāna.

Purport

According to Āyur-vedic śāstra, we understand that there is a fire in the stomach which digests all food sent there. When the fire is not blazing there is no hunger, and when the fire is in order we become hungry. Sometimes when the fire is not going nicely, treatment is required. In any case, this fire is representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vedic mantras ( Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 5.9.1) also confirm that the Supreme Lord or Brahman is situated in the form of fire within the stomach and is digesting all kinds of foodstuff ( ayam agnir vaiśvānaro yo ’yam antaḥ puruṣe yenedam annaṁ pacyate ). Therefore since He is helping the digestion of all kinds of foodstuff, the living entity is not independent in the eating process. Unless the Supreme Lord helps him in digesting, there is no possibility of eating. He thus produces and digests foodstuff, and by His grace we are enjoying life. In the Vedānta-sūtra (1.2.27) this is also confirmed. Śabdādibhyo ’ntaḥ pratiṣṭhānāc ca: the Lord is situated within sound and within the body, within the air and even within the stomach as the digestive force. There are four kinds of foodstuff – some are drunk, some are chewed, some are licked up, and some are sucked – and He is the digestive force for all of them.

Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

Becoming vaiśvānara, the fire in the stomach, taking shelter of the bodies of living entities, along with the prāṇa and apāna, which stimulate the fire, I digest the food of four types. The four types of food are: chewed with the teeth (bhakṣya), like roasted chick peas; savored by the tongue without using the teeth (bhojya) such as soup; licked (lehya) such as raw sugar; and sucked items (coṣya), in which the chewed portion is discarded, such as sugar cane stick.

Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)

I alone am the cause of digesting foods, such as rice and other enjoyable items. Becoming the fire of the stomach, accepting that small body, taking shelter in the stomachs (deham) of all living beings, being engaged with the prāṇa and apāna which enliven the stomach, I bring about the digestion of the four types of food eaten by the living entities. The śṛuti says ayam agnir vaiśvānaro yo’yam antaḥ puruṣe yenedaṁ annaṁ pacyate: the Lord is the fire of digestion which is within man and by which food is digested. (Bṛhad Āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 5.9) That I alone am the body of the digestive fire, assisting in digestion, is also stated by the author of Vedānta. śabdādibhyo’ntaḥ pratiṣṭhānāc ca: if there be objection that the fire of digestion is not Viṣṇu, because of opposing statements and His residing in the human body, the answer is that the fire is Viṣṇu, because meditation on Visnu is taught. (Vedānta Sūtras 1.2.27) The four types of food are those which are chewed (bhakṣyam), sipped (bhojyam), licked (lehyam) and sucked (cūṣyam). Bhakṣya means that which is chewed with the teeth, such as chick peas or bread. It is also called carvyam. Sipped items are such thing as soup and porridge. Licked items are such things as milk rice, raw sugar and honey. Sucked items are such things as ripe amalaki and sugar cane. When the Lord says He becomes the moon and the fire of digestion, that He is not different from them, it should be understood that He does so by His power of pervasion.