khe khāni vāyau niśvāsāṁs

khe khāni vāyau niśvāsāṁs

tejaḥsūṣmāṇam ātmavān

apsv asṛk-śleṣma-pūyāni

kṣitau śeṣaṁ yathodbhavam

He should merge the holes in the body into the ether, breathing into air, the heat of the body into fire, and semen, blood, mucus and urine into water. He should merge the remainder, such as skin, muscle and bone, into earth. They are merged into their sources.

The sentence is connected with the previous verse. He should merge the holes of the body into ether. Śeṣam means the hard substances like bone and flesh.

|| 7.12.26-28 ||

vācam agnau savaktavyām

indre śilpaṁ karāv api

padāni gatyā vayasi

ratyopasthaṁ prajāpatau

mṛtyau pāyuṁ visargaṁ ca

yathā-sthānaṁ vinirdiśet

dikṣu śrotraṁ sa-nādena

sparśenādhyātmani tvacam

rūpāṇi cakṣuṣā rājan

jyotiṣy abhiniveśayet

apsu pracetasā jihvāṁ

ghreyair ghrāṇaṁ kṣitau nyaset

He should merge the object of speech, along with the voice, into fire and should merges craftsmanship and the two hands into Indra. He should merge the power of movement and the legs into Viṣṇu. He should merge sensual pleasure, along with the genitals, into Prajāpati. He should merge the rectum, with the power of evacuation, into Mṛtyu. He should merge the ear along with sound into the deities presiding over the directions. He should merge the skin along with the sense object called touch into Vāyu. He should merge the eye and form into the sun. He should merge the tongue, along with taste into Varuṇa, and the nose along with smell, into the Aśvinī-kumāras.

Having explained merging of the gross body, he explains merging of the subtle body (composed of sense objects, senses and devatās). The senses and the sense objects are merged into the devatās of the senses. Vayasi means “into Viṣṇu.” First voice is merged into Agni. The verb “should merge” is understood for all the sentences. Yathā-sthānam means “each item will be listed in sequence without missing any of them.” Sa nādena means “the jñānī merges the ear along with sound into the deities of the directions.” Touch and skin are merged into Vayu (adhyātmani). Eye and form are merged into the sun (jyotiṣi). He merges tastes such as sweetness (pracetasā—where there is excellent consciousness) along with the tongue into Varuṇa (apsu). He merges the nose along with smell into the Āśvini-kumāras (kṣitau) who are the presiding deities of the earth.

|| 7.12.29-30 ||