For Eternal Beginners
अहम् वैश्वानरो भूत्वा प्राणिनाम् देहम् आश्रितः ।
प्राणापान समायुक्तः पचाम्यन्नम् चतुर्विधम् ॥ १४ ॥
aham vaizvAnaro bhUtvA prANinAm deham AzritaH |
prANApAna samAyuktaH pacAmyannam caturvidham || 14 ||
अहम् आश्रितः [aham AzritaH] I embed Myself in प्राणिनाम् देहम् [prANinAm deham] the bodies of animals भूत्वा [bhUtvA] in the form of वैश्वानरः [vaizvAnaraH] the chemistry of digestion. समायुक्तः [samAyuktaH] Together with प्राण [prANa] inhalation अपान [apAna] and exhalation, पचामि [pacAmi] I digest चतुर्विधम् अन्नम् [caturvidham annam] the four types of food.
I am the chemistry of digestion - the mechanism of digestion in the stomach. I embed Myself in all animals in this form too. Animals eat four types of food - solid food that’s chewed, food that’s swallowed, food that’s licked and liquids that they drink. I digest the four types of foods by combining with the different functions of inhalation and exhalation.
The essence of taste and the chemistry of digestion, which are under the control of the Lord, were mentioned by Him as ‘I am the essence of taste’ and ‘I am the chemistry of digestion’ in the previous two Shlokas. They were described as being the Lord Himself, even though the Lord controls them. In fact, they describe the equivalence of everything in the universe to the Lord. The basis of this equivalence is stated next.