सोऽयास्य आङ्गिरसः, अङ्गानां हि रसः, प्राणो वा अङ्गानां रसः, प्राणो हि वा अङ्गानां रसः; तस्माद्यस्मात्कस्माच्चाङ्गात्प्राण उत्क्रामति तदेव तच्छुष्यति, एष हि वा अङ्गानां रसः ॥ १९ ॥
so’yāsya āṅgirasaḥ, aṅgānāṃ hi rasaḥ, prāṇo vā aṅgānāṃ rasaḥ, prāṇo hi vā aṅgānāṃ rasaḥ; tasmādyasmātkasmāccāṅgātprāṇa utkrāmati tadeva tacchuṣyati, eṣa hi vā aṅgānāṃ rasaḥ || 19 ||
19. It is called Ayāsya Āṅgirasa, for it is the essence of the members (of the body). The vital force is indeed the essence of the members. Of course it is their essence. (For instance), from whichever member the vital force departs, right there it withers. Therefore this is of course the essence of the members.
It is called Ayāsya Āṅgirasa, etc.—Tliis is repeated here as it is (from paragraph 8) for the sake of the answer. The passage ending with, ‘The vital force is indeed the essence of the members,’ reminds us of what has already been explained. How? The vital force is indeed the essence of the members. Of course it is their essence. The particle ‘hi’ denotes a well-known fact. Everybody knows that the vital force, and not the organ of speech etc., is the essence of the members. Therefore it is right to remind us of this fact with the words, ‘The vital force is indeed’ How is it well-known? From whichever member—any part of the body without distinction is meant—the vital force departs, right there it, that member, withers or dries up. The word ‘therefore’ signifying conclusion, is construed with the last sentence. Therefore this is of course the essence of the members, is the conclusion. Hence it is proved that the vital force is the self of the body and organs. Because when the self departs, withering or death (of the body) takes place. Hence all creatures live through that. Therefore, leaving out the organ of speech and the rest, the vital force alone should be meditated upon. This is the sense of the whole passage.
The vital force is the self not only of the body and organs, which represent form and action respectively, but also of the Vedas, Ṛc, Yajus and Sāman, which consist of name. Thus the Śruti magnifies the vital force, extolling it as the self of all, to show that it is a fit object of meditation.