15-8

शरीरम् यदवाप्नोति यच्चापि उत्क्रामतीश्वरः ।
गृहीत्व एतानि सम्याति वायुर्गन्धान् इवाशयात् ॥ ८ ॥

zarIram yadavApnoti yaccApi utkrAmatIzvaraH |
gRhItva etAni samyAti vAyurgandhAn ivAzayAt || 8 ||

ईश्वरः [IzvaraH] The owner गृहीत्व एतानि [gRhItva etAni] carries the essence यत् शरीरम् [yat zarIram] of the body अवाप्नोति [avApnoti] it gets to own, यत् च [yat ca] and the one that it उत्क्रामति [utkrAmati] leaves. सम्याति [samyAti] It departs इव [iva] like वायुः [vAyuH] the wind गन्धान् [gandhAn] that takes the fragrance आशयात् [AzayAt] from its source.

In this Shloka, a difference is made in the body we enter at birth and the one that we leave at death, since those are not the same. Consider this - We are a single cell at conception. This is followed by many cycles of new cells till we die.

The Self is the owner of its organs, made from solids, liquids, gasses, energy and space. It gets to own them in a body at the time of birth and leaves a body when it dies. It carries the essence of its organs and departs.

This is compared to the wind, which takes the fragrance from its source. Fragrant things such as a garland, sandal and musk contain fragrance. The wind carries that subtle smell from the source to another place. The Self carries the essence of the organs in the same way.

The ‘essence of the organ’ is the sense of experience that it gives. For example, an organ such as the ear gives experiences related to listening- like pleasurable and irritating sounds.

The organs involved are listed again by the Lord in the next Shloka -