Bhagavad Gita 15.8
Purushottama Yoga · English Translation
Sanskrit
शरीरं यदवाप्नोति यच्चाप्युत्क्रामतीश्वरः | गृहीत्वैतानि संयाति वायुर्गन्धानिवाशयात् ||१५-८||
Transliteration
śarīraṃ yadavāpnoti yaccāpyutkrāmatīśvaraḥ . gṛhitvaitāni saṃyāti vāyurgandhānivāśayāt ||15-8||
When the Lord (as the individual soul) obtains a body and when He leaves it, He takes these and goes (with them) as the wind takes the scents from their seats (flowers, etc.).
Word by Word
शरीरम् a body, यत् when, अवाप्नोति obtains, यत् when, च and, अपि also, उत्क्रामति leaves, ईश्वरः the Lord, गृहीत्वा taking, एतानि these, संयाति goes, वायुः the wind, गन्धान् the scents, इव as, आशयात् from (their) seats (the flowers)
Classical Commentary
Here is a description of how the subtle body leaves the gross body. When the Jiva, the Lord of the aggregate of the body and the rest takes up this body he brings in with him the mind and the senses when he leavs the body at its dissolution he takes with him the senses and the mind, just as the wind carries with it the fragrance from the flowers. Wherever he goes and whatever form he assumes he again operates through these senses and the mind. Lord Jiva, the Lord of the aggregate of the body and the rest. The Self appears to be an agent or an enjoyer only when he possesses or assumes a body.