October 23, 2025
gām āviśya ca bhūtāni dhārayāṁy aham ojasā
puṣṇāmi cau ’ṣadhīḥ sarvāḥ somo bhūtvā rasātmakaḥ (XV-13)
ahaṁ vaiśvānaro bhūtvā prāṇināṁ deham āśritaḥ
prāṇāpānasamāyuktaḥ pacāṁy annaṁ caturvidhaṁ (XV-14)
XV/13. Permeating the earth I support all beings by (my) energy;
and having become the watery moon I nourish all herbs.
XV/14. Having become the fire, Vaiśvānara, I abide in
the body of living beings and, associated with the praṇa and
the apāna, digest the fourfold food.
Swamiji's Commentary
Soma in the text has been variously interpreted, and in the context of the vedā, it has been taken to mean a kind of intoxicating drink. The sense in which it has been used here makes it clear that ‘soma’ is ‘watery’ energy or some kind of an ‘essence’ (rasa) which the moon bestows on the herbs.
These verses bring God nearer home, explaining the daily function of our body. Krishna neither cancels the vitamin theory nor the herbalists’ ecstatic belief in the miracle that herbs can work. He intensifies both! Mineral salts nourish plant life and plants nourish animals, but the power of nourishment is God’s. Scientists have carefully analyzed the assessed mineral salts and described their composition in terms of different molecules. Krishna only expresses in another way the truth which scientists, in the glory of that intelligence which is the reflected light of God, have made clear. There can be but one answer to the questions: “Who organized the molecules?”, “Who guided the scientists’ intelligence?” – God.
Within the human body, as the gastric fire, it is his power again that digests all kinds of foods. A study of the process of digestion is an amazing indicator of the divine power that functions within our own body! It is good to cultivate the habit of feeling the presence of God in all these functions. It will promote the health of body, mind and soul.
It is also good to remember all the time that saying ‘God’ is not knowing him! When 'God’ is given as the answer to our questions, the question is not answered, – the quest is intensified. The verbal answer is but a word. Truth eludes words.