शरीरं यदवाप्नोति यच्चाप्युत्क्रामतीश्वरः ।गृहीत्वैतानि संयाति वायुर्गन्धानिवाशयात् ॥
śarīraṃ yad avāpnoti yac cāpy utkrāmatīśvaraḥ |gṛhītvaitāni saṃyāti vāyur gandhān ivāśayāt ||
- शरीरम् · śarīram
- a body
- यत् · yat
- when
- अवाप्नोति · avāpnoti
- obtains, enters
- उत्क्रामति · utkrāmati
- departs, moves out
- ईश्वरः · īśvaraḥ
- the lord (the embodied self)
- गृहीत्वा · gṛhītvā
- having gathered up
- एतानि · etāni
- these (senses and mind)
- संयाति · saṃyāti
- travels on
- वायुः · vāyuḥ
- the wind
- गन्धान् · gandhān
- scents
- इव · iva
- like
- आशयात् · āśayāt
- from their seat
“When the embodied lord takes a body or leaves it, he carries these senses with him — as the wind carries scents from their resting place.”
— Original plain-language translation
A homely simile for transmigration: the subtle senses travel with the self the way fragrance travels on air. Personality's equipment thus survives death and conditions the next birth. This is why purification of mind and senses matters now, not later.
— Reader's notes (original)