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VIVEKACŪDAMAŅI
156 The śruti says: asmällokāt pretya etam annamayamātmānam upasamkrāmati: "Going away from this body, he (first) transcends the material body". The ātman is behind all the kośas of which (beginning with the annamaya-kośa) the anandamaya-kośa is the last. Being the gross sheath, it is the first to be eliminated. The guru now proceeds in these ten ślokas to analyse the nature of this annamayakośa.
देहोऽयमन्नभवनोऽन्नमयस्तु कोशो
ह्यन्नेन जीवति विनश्यति तद्विहीनः । त्वक्चर्ममांसरुधिरास्थिपुरीषराशिः
नायं स्वयं भवितुमर्हति नित्यशुद्धः ॥१५६ ॥ deho'yam annabhavano'nnamayastu kośo
hyannena jivati vinaśyati tadvihinaḥ 1 tvakcarmamāmsarudhirāsthipurīşarāśiḥ
nāyam svayam bhavitum arhati nityasuddhah 11
The sheath of the gross body is anna (matter)-born and anna (matter)-sustained. It lives by anna (matter) and dies without it. It is composed of the skin, flesh, blood and the excreta. It does not deserve to be the ever-pure atman.
annabhavanaḥ: that which is originated from anna (matter) Origin of this kośa is from the food eaten by the father and the mother. So, it is annabhavana. This body is a visible object. It is a gross material sheath. tu is to exclude other things. That is, among the five sheaths, the gross body alone is annamaya, not any, thing else. Vide the śruti: 'annad vai prajāḥ prajāyante, atho annenaiva jīvanti (Taitt.) "People are born of anna (matter) and they live only by anna". Being of anna is not merely by origin; but even after origination, it lives by anna (food). Without anna, it dies, its prāņa goes away. Thus, positively, as it lives by anna, and negatively, as it dies without anna, the gross body is dependent on anna.
hi: indicates niscaya, conclusiveness.
The gross body being the anātman is not merely so because it is dependent on something else; it is also declared by the word tvak (skin) etc., in the sloka as impure. It is made of skin, flesh, blood, bones, excrement etc. It does not deserve to be the ātman which is eternally pure etc. Vide the śrutis: ajo nityaḥ (Katha.); śuddham
