Text 29: His arms are the demigods headed by Indra, the ten directional sides are His ears, and physical sound is His sense of hearing. His nostrils are the two Aśvinī-kumāras, and material fragrance is His sense of smell. His mouth is the blazing fire.
Text 30: The sphere of outer space constitutes His eyepits, and the eyeball is the sun as the power of seeing. His eyelids are both the day and night, and in the movements of His eyebrows, Brahmā and similar supreme personalities reside. His palate is the director of water, Varuṇa, and the juice or essence of everything is His tongue.
Text 31: They say that the Vedic hymns are the cerebral passage of the Lord, and His jaws of teeth are Yama, god of death, who punishes the sinners. The art of affection is His set of teeth, and the most alluring illusory material energy is His smile. This great ocean of material creation is but the casting of His glance over us.
Text 32: Modesty is the upper portion of His lips, hankering is His chin, religion is the breast of the Lord, and irreligion is His back. Brahmājī, who generates all living beings in the material world, is His genitals, and the Mitrā-varuṇas are His two testicles. The ocean is His waist, and the hills and mountains are the stacks of His bones.
Bhāvarthadīpikā Vyākhyā by Śrīdhara Svāmī
The devas are said to be those with radiant bodies. The deities presiding over the directions are our auditory faculties and the like. The ears are the seat of the auditory sense, and sound is its object. The auditory sense is called śrotra. Similarly, in the case of the nose and other organs, the two Ashvins are the deities presiding over the two nostrils; Iddha, the brilliant one. (29)
The sky is the space; the eyeballs are the visual organs; the sun is the eye; day and night are the eyelids; the eyelashes are the pataṃgas. The supreme abode, the state of Brahman, is the point between the eyebrows; the palate is the presiding deity, and the tongue is the sense organ. (30)
The Vedas are the chhands; the brahmarandhra is the head; the traces of affection for children etc. are the snehakalās; the teeth are the dvijas; the cavity of the mouth is the ārṣam. That which is referred to as the boundless source is the sidelong glance. (31)
The path of unrighteousness is its back; Prajāpati is who; Mitra and Varuṇa are the two friends. (32)
Śrīvaṃśīdhara Kṛtā Bhāvārtha-dīpikā Prakāśa Vyākhyā
Although there is a division into the individual (vyaṣṭi) and the collective (samaṣṭi) forms of Virāj, yet the collective Virāj is to be meditated upon as the Supreme Lord by the yogins who are the worshippers of Hiranyagarbha. For the Supreme Lord, the objects of the senses become the Virāj itself. The senses, their presiding deities, and the sense objects arise from the respective sense organs of His. Due to the non-difference between cause and effect, the collective Virāj, being meditated upon as the Supreme Lord, is conceived through the terms like directions, sound, etc., beginning with the ears and the auditory sense. (29)
The sky is the space; the sun and the eyeballs are there. Or, the sun is indicated by the word 'dyu' as it illuminates the pavilions. The form of the visual organ is called 'patanga'. Here, the word 'patanga' refers to the brilliant form, not the sun itself. The sun and the day are the eyes. This is the human form. The earth is the feet; the sky is the head; the space is the navel; the sun is the eyes; the wind is the nostrils; the directions are the ears. Since it is said 'prabhor' in the preceding statement, 'ahi' refers to both day and night, following the maxim 'a neuter by a neuter'. By the principle of co-existence of gender, the word 'āhā' also includes the night. The waters are Varuna. (30)
Saṃḍhatva means impotence. (31) The right breast is Dharma, as it is said, "Dharma is on the right breast." The penis is Shina. (32)
Dīpanī commentary by Śrī Rādhāramaṇadāsa Gosvāmī:
Daṃṣṭrā means a specific kind of sharp-edged tooth. Hemacandra (explains it as) 'dādā'. (31-34)
Śrīmad Vīrarāghava Vyākhyā
The devas like Indra are said to be his arms (bāhavah). His ears, being the abode of the auditory sense organ, are the directions; the auditory sense organ itself is sound, which is of the nature of dhvani and varna. Similarly, in the case of the supreme one who is devoid of any other abiding place, the two Ashvins in the form of the two nostrils are the presiding deities over smell, which is of various kinds like fragrant, pungent, etc., and that is the olfactory sense organ. Iddha, the brilliant one, is fire, whose mouth is this (world). (29)
The sky is the world; the eyeballs are the visual organs there. Patanga is the sun, the Viraj of Vishnu. The two days and nights are its eyelids. The arching of its eyebrows, the movement of its eyebrows, is the supreme abode of the four-faced Brahma. Its palate is the waters, whose presiding deity is Varuna. Its tongue is taste. (30)
The Vedic meters sing the praises of the head of the infinite one who is devoid of the three kinds of limitations. Yamadeva is the teeth (damshrā). The teeth are the dvijas. The impotence is the ārsham. The traces of affection are the affectionate portions of ours towards the Viraj, meaning his teeth. His laughter is the amazing power, the māyā, which causes delusion. The word 'māyā' everywhere signifies the amazing cause of activity, and that (māyā) is of the nature of being astonishing, and since it can produce various effects, it is called the boundless source from whose sight comes liberation. (31)
The upper lip is play (trīdā); the lower lip is bashfulness. Greed is Dharma; the breast is Adharma. The back part of him, the Viraj, is the path of unrighteousness. His navel is Prajāpati. The two testicles are Mitra and Varuna. The ocean is his belly, and the mountains are the clusters of his bones. (32)
Padaratnāvalī Commentary by Śrīmad Vijayādhvaja Tīrtha:
The Lokapālas like Indra are said to be His arms. The directions are His ears, situated in the spheres. The auditory sense organ of that Hari is sound. The two Ashvins, the Nāsatyas, are the two nostrils; smell is the quality of the earth. They speak of the olfactory sense organ as the producer of smell. Iddha means brilliant. (29)
Om, the world is dyau. The eyeballs are the sun, patanga. The days for humans and the days for devas like Indra are both the eyelids of Vishnu. Arising from that and dependent on that is the supreme abode of Brahmā. The tastes like sweet are (His tongue). (30)
The Vedic meters like Gāyatrī sing His praises. The two jaws are the sun and moon, remaining from "born from the two jaws." Since He has many forms, it is repeated. Bangatva means multitude, as per the statement. The stars are the dvijas, the teeth. Here, the absence of the name to be taken and gender deviation are meant to indicate uniqueness. The delusive power is His laughter, expressed through that laughter. From the aphorism "the first among the seven," the boundless creation is the unending universal manifestation. (31)
Vridā is bashfulness; the lower lip is adhara. The word 'eva' separates the preceding from the subsequent. Who is the Prajāpati? The penis is the Medhā organ. The two testicles are the two seeds, indicated by Mitra and also Varuna. (32)
Kramasandarbha Commentary by Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī:
Regarding "Indra and others," in this commentary, the mention of the nose and other faculties is merely illustrative, since there is a deviation in the case of the eyes, for there the sun itself is described as being situated in the eyeballs. Thus, no reasoning should be sought here; rather, it is solely for the purpose of meditation, as commanded by the scriptures. All is reconciled in this way. (29) The waters, whose presiding deity is Varuna. (30-38)
Sārārthadarśinī Commentary by Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī:
The devas like Indra are called His arms. The directions, whose presiding deities are the controllers of our auditory sense, are His ears, the seat of hearing. Sound, the object of our auditory sense, is His auditory organ. The same arrangement applies everywhere. Here, although the categories of the individual soul, the collective soul, and the universal form are essentially the same in terms of the divisions like adhyātma (related to the individual), etc., for the worshipers of Hiranyagarbha (the collective soul) and for the yogis, the universal form becomes the object of the senses, while the senses arise from the presiding deities of that universal form. Due to the non-difference between cause and effect, by the figurative identification, the collective soul and the universal form are to be meditated upon as the supreme Lord, whose ears and other senses are conceived as the directions, etc. The two Aśvins are the two nostrils. Iddha means brilliant. (29)
Dyau is the atmospheric region, where the sun resides in the eyeballs. Or, by the principle of using dyau to denote "shining," the sun is indicated. Patanga is the form, the visual organ. Here, patanga denotes the luminous form, not the sun itself, as it would contradict previous statements like "The sun and the moon are the two eyes of the Lord, the earth is His feet, the sky is His head, the navel is the sun, the nostrils are the winds, and the directions are His ears." Ahan means both day and night, by the principle of gender association with pairs. Parameṣṭhi-dhiṣṇya is the abode of Brahmā. The waters are Varuna, the presiding deity of the tongue, the sense organ. (30)
The Vedic meters are the Vedas. The head is Brahmarandhra. Snehakala refers to the traces of affection like that for one's children. Dvijas are the teeth, their set of six is ārṣa. Durantasarga is the boundless cycle of rebirth. (31)
Dharma is the right breast, as stated "Dharma is to the right of the breast." Who is the Prajāpati? Medhra is the penis. The two testicles are Mitra and Varuna. (32)
Śrī Śukadeva's Siddhāntapadīpa Commentary:
The eight Vasus, devas like Indra, are said to be His arms. The directions, whose presiding deities are the controllers of our auditory sense, are the apertures that serve as the seat of His faculty of hearing. Similarly, the sound itself is His auditory organ. Likewise, the presiding deities of our senses are the respective seats and objects of those senses. This should be understood to refer to our senses. The two Aśvins are situated at the two nostrils of the Supreme Lord who is to be worshiped. The brilliant speech is His faculty of speech, though this is not explicitly stated. (29)
The atmospheric region is His eyes. The sun became His visual organ in the eyeballs. Both day and night are the eyelids of Viṣṇu. The arching of the brows is the abode of the Supreme Lord Brahmā. The waters, whose presiding deity is Varuṇa, are the seat of His palate. The tongue is His faculty of taste. (30)
The Vedic meters chant the Brahmarandhra, the head of the Infinite, devoid of any limitations. Yama is His teeth. The traces of affection in the body, home, etc., are His teeth. The teeth are feminine (napuṃsakatvam is for ārṣam). The māyā that deludes people is His bewitching nature directed towards actions. The boundless creation is His glance of liberation. (31)
Bashfulness is His upper lip. The path of adharma is His back region. Who is the Prajāpati? Mitra and Varuṇa are His testicles. The belly is His abdomen. (32)
Śrīmad Vallabhācārya.kṛtā Subodhinī Vyākhyā
After describing the abodes of the worlds, he speaks of the abodes of the individual souls within them, beginning with the words "indrādayaḥ" - Although it may be said that those whose position is indicated dwell there, still the positions of the souls with no fixed abode are being defined. For the devas roam through all the worlds. Or, it is separately defined so that the physical organs of the Lord may not be mistaken. Those deities are superintending deities. Others described in that context are also to be understood as such. The devas like Indra are ushras, bestowers of the fruits of karma. Those capable of bearing burdens are called ushras, meaning "those who rise up." This is established in the statement "ushrāvaitam̐ ghuruṣā 'hāvi." And the Lord's arms are also bestowers of fruits. The directions in the brahmāṇḍa are the ears of the Lord. That which is sound is His auditory faculty. The two Ashvins are situated at the nostrils of the Supreme Lord. The two nostrils are of the Supreme Sacrifice. The sacrifice itself, due to the benefits conferred by it. The controllers of our senses are the spheres corresponding to the Lord's sense organs. The object is the sense organ itself. Smell is His sense of smell. The kindled fire is iddha. Therefore, that which is kindled in the Lord's mouth should be considered as food. (29)
The celestial region, the abode of children, is the heaven. The eyeballs are akṣhiṇī. The sun is the visual organ, called pataṅga, meaning "that which flies." The eye too belongs to the Lord, with the meaning that it moves and flies in its own sphere. The four eyelids that open and close the eyes are His eyelashes. "Of Viṣṇu" means either of the Lord in His form as Time or as the Sacrifice. Both day and night together form the pair of eyelids, with the application to gods and humans respectively, and also to manes and Brahmā by the word "ca." The Supreme Lord's abode, the region of Truth (Satyaloka), is parameṣṭhidhiṣhṇyam. Towards that, He extends His brows with satisfaction and makes one sit on the seat of Brahmā. The waters, in the form of the wives of Varuṇa, are His palate in the form of a spherical surface. The tongue is His faculty of taste, excluding liquids indicated by "eva." (30)
The Vedic meters like Gāyatrī, which number a thousand, all chant His glory. Yama is His teeth. The traces of attachment etc. are His teeth, which are considered feminine. Laughter that infatuates creatures is verily His māyā, and by the word "ca," devotion that does not infatuate is also suggested. Māyā has already been described. The boundless creation in the form of an eternal flow is duranta-sarga. Liberation through His glance is apāṅga-mokṣha. (31)
Bashfulness is His upper lip. The greed is for the lower ones only, as indicated by "eva." Dharma, the son of Brahmā and father of Nara-Nārāyaṇa, or the four-footed Dharma, is His right teat. The left one is Adharma. And the path of Adharma is the back portion of the Lord. Who is the Prajāpati? The sense organs (?) (meaning unclear). Mitra and Varuṇa are the two testicles or friends. The abdomen is His belly. All the oceans too are the Lord's abdomen. The mountains are the masses of His bones, the rivers are His curved lines. (32)
Śrī Purushottama's Subodhinī Prakāśa commentary
On the phrase "indrādayaḥ" - Since it cannot be said that they are organs merely because they roam about in the absence of a fixed position, he presents an alternative view with the words "athavā." By quoting "ushrāvaitam," etc., it is indicated that the Jaimini's view of deities being mantras is inconsistent. On the phrase "nāsatyadatrau" - By saying "of the sacrifice," the non-difference between the sacrifice and the Puruṣha is indicated. This will become clear later in verse 226/27 - "That very sacrifice, that Puruṣha, by that very one ruled the Lord sacrificed."
The phrase "śiśhumārasthānabhūtaḥ" indicates that heaven has contradictory attributes. On "pakṣhmāṇi viṣhṇoḥ" - Here "of the form of Time" indicates the non-difference from the Puruṣha, as stated in the Gītā: "Time I am, the world-destroying." The term "pūrvvammuktā" refers to what was said earlier in the first skanda in the verse "apaśyatpuruṣham̐ pūrṇam" - that Māyā was described as dependent on the Lord.
The reading "meḍhra artha indriyam" seems to be "indriyam eva." On "vaṅkrayaḥ" - meaning the side bones. The intention is to indicate their greatness, like that of a king, by virtue of their power etc. On "gandharva" - It is said thus because the original word "smr̥tiḥ" can have both masculine and feminine genders by convention. (29)
Śrī Giridhara's Bālaprabodhinī commentary
After explaining the worship of the fourteen limbs as the divine form of the Lord, he now states that the individual souls (jīvas) are also forms of those divinities - "indrādayaḥ iti." The Indras and other devas are said to be the arms of that supreme, undifferentiated Virāj. The quarters are the presiding deities of the sense of hearing, which is his ears. The object of hearing, sound, is his sense of hearing itself. Similarly for the nose and other senses. For the supreme, undifferentiated Virāj, the two Aśvins, the Nāsatyas, are the two nostrils, and smell is his sense of smell. The kindled fire is his mouth. (29)
The two worlds are his two eyes. The sun, which pervades, was the eye of the all-pervading Virāj. The two days and nights are his eyelashes. The raised brows are the abode of the four-faced supreme Lord. His palate is the waters, and its lord is Varuṇa. His tongue is taste. (30) The Vedic meters like Gāyatrī etc. chant the head of the endless, unlimitedViṣṇu by space, time and object. Here the term "head" refers to the upper part called Brahmarandhra, as established by the usage "śīrṣāgīti." There is another reading "chant his glory." His fangs are Yama. The tender affections like that for a son are his thin teeth, the cruelty being a bit excessive. His laughter, which maddens people, is the deluding Māyā. That from which creation arises is his sidelong glance of grace, for by that mere glance creation began, as established in the Śruti "sa aikṣata bahuṣyāma" etc. (31)
His upper lip is Modesty. His lower lip is Greed, which is an ever-increasing desire for objects even after attaining them. Dharma is his chest; the wrong path is his back. His penis is Prajāpati. The two Mitras are his two testicles. The oceans are his belly. The mountains are his masses of bones. (32)
Hindi Anuvāda
The devas like Indra are His arms. The quarters are His ears and sound is His sense of hearing. The two Ashvins are the holes of His nostrils; smell is His sense of smell. And the blazing fire is His mouth. (29)
The worlds are the eyes of Lord Viṣṇu, with the sun being the power of sight in them. The two eyelids are the day and night. His raising of the brows is Brahmaloka. The palate is water and the tongue is taste. (30)
The Vedas are called the brahmarandhra of the Lord, and Yama is His fangs. All kinds of affections are His teeth, and His bewitching Maya is described as His smile. This infinite creation is merely the playful glance of that Maya. (31)
Mitra and Varuna are the upper lip of modesty and the lower lip of greed respectively. Dharma is the chest and adharma is the back. Prajāpati is His genitals, the testicles are His seeds, the oceans are His womb, and the great mountains are His bones. (32)
SB 2.1.29-32
