Verse 15.8

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 15.8:

शरीरं यद् अवाप्नोति यच् चाप्य् उत्क्रामतीश्वरः ।
गृहीत्वैतानि संयाति वायुर् गन्धान् इवाशयात् ॥ ८ ॥

śarīraṃ yad avāpnoti yac cāpy utkrāmatīśvaraḥ |
gṛhītvaitāni saṃyāti vāyur gandhān ivāśayāt || 8 ||

śarīram–to the body; yat–whichever; āpnoti–he accepts; yat–whichever; ca api–and also; utkrāmati–exits from; īśvaraḥ–the master (of the senses of the material body), the living entity; gṛhītvā–taking; etāni–these (the mind and the five senses); saṃyāti–he travels; vāyuḥ–the wind; gandhān–scents; iva–just as; āśayāt–from a container (of flowers or other substances).

Just as the wind carries the aroma of flowers and other substances, so the embodied living entity, the master of the senses, carries the six senses from whichever body he abandons to whichever body he achieves.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

“What does he (the living entity) do when he is attracted by the senses?” Expecting this question, Śrī Bhagavān speaks this verse beginning with śarīraṃ yad avāpnoti. Karma controls whatever gross body is attained by the living entity, the master of the body and senses. He carries the senses, along with the subtle elements, from whichever body he leaves and then enters a new body, just as the wind carries an aroma from its source, such as a flower garland or sandalwood, to another place.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

(By Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja; the explanation that illuminates the commentary named Sārārtha-varṣiṇī)

Śrī Bhagavān is explaining how a conditioned soul achieves another body. After death, his condition of being bound does not cease. Until a living entity becomes free from the material world by worshipping Śrī Bhagavān, he has to take repeated births in accordance with the impressions of his past actions. Śrī Bhagavān uses an analogy to explain the living entity’s transit to a new body. The wind carries the aroma of a flower but not the flower itself, which remains where it is. Similarly, at the time of death, the living entity gives up his gross body and accepts the shelter of another gross body, taking with him the mind and its desires, along with the senses. In this way, he repeatedly accepts different bodies according to the actions he desires to perform.

This is also described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.22.37):

manaḥ karma-mayaṃ ṇṝṇām indriyaiḥ pañcabhir yutam
lokāl lokaṃ prayāty anya ātmā tad anuvartate

It is indeed the mind, which carries the impressions of one’s actions, that travels from one body to another along with the five senses. The soul is different from the mind, but it follows it, being driven by the false ego.

This is also stated by Kapiladeva in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.31.43):

dehena jīva-bhūtena lokāl lokam anuvrajan
bhuñjāna eva karmāṇi karoty avirataṃ pumān

Due to a particular type of body, the conditioned materialistic living entity wanders from one planet to another, following his material desires. In this way, he involves himself in fruitive activities and enjoys the result incessantly.*

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, “Death does not terminate one’s bound state. A living entity’s past actions determine his next gross body, and in due course of time, he will move on from that also. As he travels from one body to the next, he carries with him desires to perform bodily activities. Just as the wind carries an aroma from its source, such as flowers or sandalwood, to another place, the jīva, along with the subtle elements and the senses, travels from one gross body to another.”