Verse 2.19.1

लोम हिंकारस्त्वक्प्रस्तावो मांसमुद्गीथोस्थि प्रतिहारो मज्जा निधनमेतद्यज्ञायज्ञीयमङ्गेषु प्रोतम् ॥ २.१९.१ ॥

loma hiṃkārastvakprastāvo māṃsamudgīthosthi pratihāro majjā nidhanametadyajñāyajñīyamaṅgeṣu protam || 2.19.1 ||

1. Hair is the hiṃkāra, skin is the prastāva, flesh is the udgītha, bone is the pratihāra, and marrow is the nidhana. The Sāma called Yajñāyajñīya is spread all over the limbs of the body.

Word-for-word explanation:

Loma hiṃkāraḥ, hair is the hiṃkāra; tvak prastāvaḥ, skin is the prastāva; māṃsam udgīthaḥ, flesh is the udgītha; asthi pratihāraḥ, bone is the pratihāra; majjā nidhanam, marrow is the nidhana; etat yajñāyajñīyam, this [Sāma called] Yajñāyajñīya; aṅgeṣu protam, is spread all over the limbs of the body.

Commentary:

We get much nourishment from animals to sustain our bodies. That is why, in the previous section, the Sāma has been worshipped in the animals, and now it is being worshipped in the various parts of the body.

Hair is on top of the body, so it is given first place—the place given to the hiṃkāra when the Sāma is recited. Next to the hair is the skin. Similarly, next to the hiṃkāra is the prastāva. The flesh is the udgītha, for both are the most important part. Then the bones are the pratihāra, because after a body is cremated there will still be pieces of bone left, and these are ‘collected’ by the relatives. The marrow is the nidhana, for that is the end of everything.