Bhagavad Gita -Srila Prabhupada 620


The Yoga of the Supreme Person
Chapter 15: Verse- 14

aham vaisvänaro bhütvä präninäm deham äsritah
pränäpäna-samäyuktah pacämy annam catur-vidham[1]




According to Äyur-vedic sästra, we understand that there is a fire in the stomach which digests all food sent there. When the fire is not blazing there is no hunger, and when the fire is in order we become hungry. Sometimes when the fire is not going nicely, treatment is required. In any case, this fire is representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vedic mantras[2]also confirm that the Supreme Lord or Brahman is situated in the form of fire within the stomach and is digesting all kinds of foodstuff [3]Therefore since He is helping the digestion of all kinds of foodstuff, the living entity is not independent in the eating process. Unless the Supreme Lord helps him in digesting, there is no possibility of eating. He thus produces and digests foodstuff, and by His grace we are enjoying life. In the [4] this is also confirmed. Sabdädibhyo ’ntah pratisthänäc ca: the Lord is situated within sound and within the body, within the air and even within the stomach as the digestive force. There are four kinds foodstuff—some are swallowed, some are chewed, some are licked up, and some are sucked—and He is the digestive force for all of them.



  1. aham=I; vaisvänarah=My plenary portion as the digesting fire;bhütvä=becoming; präninäm=of all living entities; deham=in the bodies; äsritah=situated; präna=the outgoing air; apäna=the down-going air;
    samäyuktah=keeping in balance; pacämi=I digest; annam=foodstuff; catuh-vidham=the four kinds.
  2. Brhad-äranyaka Upanisad 5.9.1
  3. ayam agnir vaisvänaro yo ’yam antah puruse yenedam annam pacyate
  4. Vedänta-sütra 1.2.27

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