Devanagari
विवक्षोर्मुखतो भूम्नो वह्निर्वाग् व्याहृतं तयो: ।
जले चैतस्य सुचिरं निरोध: समजायत ॥ १९ ॥
Verse text
vivakṣor mukhato bhūmno
vahnir vāg vyāhṛtaṁ tayoḥ
jale caitasya suciraṁ
nirodhaḥ samajāyata
Synonyms
vivakṣoḥ
—
when there was a need to speak
;
mukhataḥ
—
from the mouth
;
bhūmnaḥ
—
of the Supreme
;
vahniḥ
—
fire or the controlling deity of fire
;
vāk
—
vibration
;
vyāhṛtam
—
speeches
;
tayoḥ
—
by both
;
jale
—
in the water
;
ca
—
however
;
etasya
—
of all these
;
suciram
—
a very, very long time
;
nirodhaḥ
—
suspension
;
samajāyata
—
did continue .
Translation
When the Supreme desired to speak, speeches were vibrated from the mouth. Then the controlling deity Fire was generated from the mouth. But when He was lying in the water, all these functions remained suspended.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
When the universal form desired to speak, from his mouth, the devatā of fire, the voice sense organ and speech, which is dependent on the devatā and the sense organ, appeared. When the form resided in the water for a long time, obstruction appeared for the universal form. When the life air became active, the two nostrils became differentiated. When the universal form desired to smell, Vāyu, who carries fragrance, fragrance, and the nose appeared.
Purport
The peculiarity of the gradual development of the different senses is simultaneously supported by their controlling deities. It is to be understood, therefore, that the activities of the sense organs are controlled by the will of the Supreme. The senses are, so to speak, offering a license for the conditioned souls, who are to use them properly under the control of the controlling deity deputed by the Supreme Lord. One who violates such controlling regulations has to be punished by degradation to a lower status of life. Consider, for example, the tongue and its controlling deity, Varuṇa. The tongue is meant for eating, and men, animals and birds each have their different tastes because of different licenses. The taste of human beings and that of the swine are not on the same level. The controlling deity, however, awards or certifies a particular type of body when the particular living entity develops a taste in terms of different modes of nature. If the human being develops taste without discrimination, as does the swine, then the controlling deity is certainly certified for the next term to award him the body of a swine. The swine accepts any kind of foodstuff, including stools, and a human being who has developed such indiscriminate taste must be prepared for a degraded life in the next life. Such a life is also God’s grace because the conditioned soul desired a body like that for perfectly tasting a particular type of foodstuff. If a man gets the body of a swine it must be considered the grace of the Lord because the Lord awards the facility. After death the next body is offered by superior control, not blindly. A human being, therefore, must be on his guard as to what sort of body he is going to have in the next life. An irresponsible life of indiscrimination is risky, and that is the declaration of all scriptures.
Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
In the location of the mouth (mukhataḥ) of the universal form appeared the devatā fire, the subtle sense organ voice and the sense object speech (vyāhrtam), which is dependent on the devatā and the sense (tayoḥ).
When obstruction took place in the water for the universal form, without breathing he could not continue existence. The nostrils are the location, the gross form, by which breathing can take place. When the life air (nabhasvati) became very active (dodhūyati), the two nostrils (gross organ) became differentiated. Air or Vāyu, who carries the fragrance, is the devatā, and fragrance is the sense object. The nose is the subtle sense object. Jighṛkṣataḥ means “of he who desired to receive smells.”