Composed of the seven ingredients - marrow, bones, fat, flesh, blood, dermis and epidermis - and consisting of the following parts - legs, thighs, chest, arms, back and the head . (72)
Here alone we can say Vivekachudamani begins from this verse alone. All the previous slōkas are preparatory slōkas. What are the seven questions, do you remember?
ko nama bandhah kathamesa agataḥ katham pratisṭhasya katham vimokṣaḥ |
ko: 'savanatma paramah ka atma tayorvivekaḥ kathametaducyatam
These are the seven questions. Sankara does not answer them in the same order as the student asks.
He rearranges the order for our convenience and of the seven questions, the first question he takes up for answering is kaha anatma; what is anatma? What is matter? And he is going to present the anatma as sarira trayam; the three bodies; the physical body, the subtle body and the causal body.
Whether the physical body I am; whether the physical body also is matter ?, there alone confusion comes.
Similarly, what about mind? For many people, mind is conscious principle. That is why they say: Mind and Matter. They think that mind is something different from matter, mind is conscious entity, they think. Sankara with the help of Upanishads wants to shows that mind or Sukshma Sariram is also matter. And finally, karana Sariram, which is nothing but all of them in seed form before big bang.
Before all of them appeared they must be in potential form; because matter can never be created or destroyed; therefore they must be in the subtle most form; that is called Karanam Sariram.
These three Sariram come under anatma. If all these three are called anatma or matter; what about atma? He wants to show that the Atma the conscious principle is distinct from all these.
Now what is the physical body? He says it is a bundle of various parts or various limbs; which is called in ayurveda sastram; as datavaḥ; or datuḥ; so every ingredient of the body is called datuḥ; and all these ingredients put together is the sariram
Now what is the division of our traditional śāstra? He says Majjaa asthi, medaha, phala, raktha, charma, tvak; seven dātuhs are there. And that is why in Nirvana shatakam, , He says, na va sapta dātuḥ; na va pancha koshaḥ; na vaak paani padau, na cha upastha akasahu;
In meditation he says; I am not these sapta dātus; I am not the epidermis, dermis; endodermis and not this hormone and all those things; they are all matter; I am the consciousness which enlivens all of them. There the word used is sapta dātuḥ; you will be wondering what are the sapta datuhu.
For that you will get the answer in this sloka;
majjaa; majja means marrow; bone marrow is called majja.
asthi means bone;
medhaha means fat;
phalam means muscle or flesh;
raktam you know raktam means blood;
charma means outer skin; and
Tvak is inner skin.
So second type of division, which is a layman's division. What is that; pāda, ooru; vakṣa, bhuja, priṣṭa; mastakaiḥ; the external division, you can understand: pada means feet; uru means thigh; vakṣaḥ means chest; bhujam means the shoulders; prisṭam means back; mustakam means head.
So anga means various limbs. So various limps consisting of leg, thighs, etc. and various ingredients consisting of bone marrow blood etc. this is a bundle of flesh, bundle of blood, bundle of bones; bundle of chemicals, is the physical body.
The significance of ecplaining the gross body in such detail is this: that the scriptures have defined consciousness as division less, which is the atma; whereas we are evidently experiencing the body as full of divisions. Therefore, indirectly Sanakra is asking the question, how can the body full of divisions be the atma, which is free from all divisions?
How can the decisioned-body; or the divided-body be the undivided- consciousness? This is indirect question which is kept in the mind.
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