Chapter 6, Sections 5 & 6
Mantra 6-5-1
annamasitam tredha vidhiyate tasya yah sthavishto
dhatustatpurisham bhavati yo madhyamastanmamsam yo'nisntastanmanah || 6.5.1 ||
When we eat food, it become divided into three
parts. The gross part of it becomes excreta; that which is subtle (middle
ingredient) becomes our flesh; and the subtlest part becomes our mind.
In this Mantra, food that
represents the Prithvi tattvam is analysed. The food one eats gets divided into three
components in one’s body, gross, subtle and subtlest. The gross part is ejected
out of the body as faecal matter. The
subtle part of the food, the nutrients are assimilated by the body as muscles
and flesh. The subtlest part nourishes the
mind which is matter only.
The term mind refers here to the phenomena of our
thinking, feeling, willing, etc., plus the aggregate of our sense organs—our
seeing, hearing, and so forth. So
food one eats along with one's vasanas and one’s upbringing influences one’s
thoughts. And not eating food for a prolonged period affects one’s body and
mind as well, making the body feeble and memory too weaker.
Mantra 6-5-2
apah pitastredha vidhiyante tasam yah sthavishto dhatustanmutram
bhavati yo madhyamastallohitam yo'nishtah sa pranah || 6.5.2 ||
When we drink water, it becomes divided into three parts. The
gross part of it becomes urine; that which is subtle (the middle ingredient) becomes
blood; and the subtlest part becomes Prana, the vital force.
Water one drinks also gets divided into three components,
gross, subtle and subtlest, in one’s body. Gross part flushes one’s whole
system and passes out of the body as urine. The subtle part becomes
blood. If one does not drink water, there would be no more blood supply and
blood clot occurs. The subtlest part nourishes Prana, the vital force. The
digestion (samana), circulation (vyana) and excretion (apana)
function well only when one drinks sufficient water. Not drinking enough water affects breathing (prana)
and thinking (udhana) too.
Mantra 6-5-3
tejo'sitam tredha vidhiyate tasya yah sthavishto
dhatustadasthi bhavati yo madhyamah sa majja yo'nishtah sa vak || 6.5.3 ||
When we eat fire (i.e., butter, oil, etc.), it becomes
divided into three parts. The gross part of it becomes bone; that which is subtle
(the middle ingredient) becomes marrow; and the subtlest part becomes speech.
Tejas literally means ‘fire.’ The idea here is that if one eats
butter or fatty substances such as oil, it is like eating fire as butter and
oil that provide one energy and vitality, are sources of Tejas. These
substances, when eaten, also become transformed into three different things.
That which is gross becomes one’s bones; that which is subtle becomes one’s
marrow; and that which is subtlest nourishes one’s speech and nothing goes waste.
Vaidhikas, who do Veda parayanam
for hours consume lot of ghee as ghee nourishes speech. Further one also uses phrases like ‘hot
discussion’ and ‘fiery speech’.
Mantra 6-5-4
annamayamhi somya manah apomayah pranastejomayi vagiti bhuya eva
ma bhagavanvijnapayatviti tatha somyeti hovaca || 6.5.4 || iti
pancamah khandah ||
Hence, dear boy, the mind is nourished by food, Prana by water, and speech by fire.’ (Svetaketu then
said,) ‘Sir, please explain this further to me?’ ‘Be it so, dear boy’ replied
his father. End of fifth section.
In this Mantra, the essence of the section is given. To sum up, the grossest and the middle ingredient of what one eats and drinks becomes the gross body made up of the sapta dhatu, the seven constituents, namely flesh, marrow, muscles, bone, excretion, urine and blood. The subtlest ingredient forms the subtle body i.e. the mind, Prana and speech. So what one eats and drinks contributes to and affects one’s health, heart and head. As only the grossified elements are only consumed by all beings and as each grossified element contains the other two elements as well, all beings automatically gain the benefits of all the elements. As Uddalaka sums up saying mind is the product of food, annamayam,; Prana, of water,apomayah, and speech of fire, tejomayi, Svetaketu seeks more details and Uddalaka agrees and will be explaining this concept in the coming sections. This section ends with Uddalaka agreeing to explain further.
Mantra 6-6-1
to 5
dadhnah somya mathyamanasya yo'nima sa urdhvah
samudisati tatsarpirbhavati || 6.6.1 ||
evameva khalu somyannasyasyamanasya yo'nima sa
urdhvah samudisati tanmano bhavati || 6.6.2 ||
apamsomya piyamananam yo'nima sa urdhvah samudisati sa prano
bhavati || 6.6.3 ||
tejasah somyasyamanasya yo'nima sa urdhvah samudisati
sa vagbhavati || 6.6.4 ||
annamayam hi somya mana apomayah pranastejomayi vagiti bhuya eva
ma bhagavanvijnapayatviti tatha somyeti hovaca || 6.6.5 || iti
sasthah khandah ||
When curd is churned, the subtlest part of it rises
to the surface. That becomes butter (1). Dear son, in the same way, the subtlest part of the
food that is eaten rises to the surface and nourishes the mind (2). Dear son, the subtlest part of water that
is drunk rises to the surface and nourishes our Prana (3). Dear son, the subtlest part of fire [butter, etc.]
that is eaten rises to the surface and nourishes our speech (4). ‘Dear son, the mind is certainly made up of food, Pṛana of water, and speech of fire.’ [Svetaketu then
said,] ‘Sir, will you please explain this to me again?’ ‘Yes, I will explain
again, dear
son,’ replied his father. End of Section 6.
Uddalaka explains citing the example
of curd and butter. When curd is churned
butter, the subtle essence of curd, surfaces.
In the same way, when the three elements, earth, water and fire are consumed
as food, water and butter, they undergo churning with digestive juices in the
stomach by the digestive system. Then their subtlest aspects separate and
surface to nourish the mind, Prana and speech respectively. This process
Uddalaka sums up again in Mantra 6.6.5, which is a repetition of Mantra
6.5.4. Now also Svetaketu asks for further clarification to which Uddalaka
gladly agrees. An explanation with
demonstration follows in the next section which we shall see in the next blog.
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