Shloka 16
The Universal Form (Virāṭ-Puruṣa): The Lord’s Entry into the Elements, the Devas, and the Origin of Varṇāśrama
निर्भिन्नान्यस्य चर्माणि लोकपालोऽनिलोऽविशत् । प्राणेनांशेन संस्पर्शं येनासौ प्रतिपद्यते ॥ १६ ॥
nirbhinnāny asya carmāṇi loka-pālo ’nilo ’viśat prāṇenāṁśena saṁsparśaṁ yenāsau pratipadyate
Lorsque la peau du Corps cosmique se manifesta distinctement, Anila, la divinité qui régit le vent, y entra avec une part de la puissance du toucher; par ce prāṇa, les êtres obtiennent la connaissance tactile.
FAQs
In Canto 3, Chapter 6, the Bhagavatam explains that when the universal form’s skin becomes manifest, Anila (Vāyu) enters it, and through prāṇa the capacity for touch (saṁsparśa) arises.
Anila is Vāyu, the presiding deity of wind. He enters the skin of the virāṭ-puruṣa because prāṇa (vital air) is the divine principle that enables the embodied being to experience touch and contact.
It encourages mindful awareness of prāṇa—through regulated breathing and sense-control—so that sensory contact is experienced with clarity rather than impulsive attachment.