Bhagavad Gita BG 15.8

Chapter 15, Verse 8 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation

शरीरं यदवाप्नोति यच्चाप्युत्क्रामतीश्वरः । गृहीत्वैतानि संयाति वायुर्गन्धानिवाशयात् ॥

shariram yad avapnoti yac capy utkramati ishvarah grhitvaitani samyati vayor gandhan ivashayat

Meaning

When the lord (jiva-ishvara) acquires a body and when he departs from it, he takes these (senses) along — as the wind carries fragrances from their source.

Understanding

The mechanics of rebirth through the lens of the senses: the ishvara (here: the jiva in its lord-like aspect — the individual soul) avapnoti shariram (when acquiring a body) and utkramati (when departing from it). In both transitions — entry and exit — he grhitvaitani samyati (taking these [six sense-faculties] along with him). The simile: vayor gandhah ivashayat (like the wind carries fragrances from their source/seat). The wind picks up scents from flowers and carries them. Similarly, the departing jiva picks up the subtle sense-faculties and mind and carries them into the next birth. This is the subtle body (sukshma sharira): the mental and sensory impressions that survive death and migrate. The simile is elegant — wind itself is invisible but carries the fragrance; the jiva is the wind, the senses its carried scents.

Word by Word

📖 Learn "The Jiva as Fragment of the Divine — Residing, Departing, Experiencing" →