Interpreting a Passage from the Vayu Purana: What Does "Purusottama" Here Mean?

 O excellent Brahmanas, then all the deities were born. The noble Purusottama was born with his Atman purified by merits earned through many Kalpas previously.

Vayu Purana translation (G.V. Tagare ed. ). 

 

The Vayu Purana, in the course of narrating the facts pertaining to "geography," mentions that the "noble Purusottama" (kṛtātmabhirvinītātmā mahātmā puruṣottamaḥ) was born after the great lotus of the earth (bronchial tree) had been evolved (along with the other deities). What could "Purusottama" in this line mean? This probably refers to the immaterial conscious personality (purusa), in the form of the jiva, who has acquired the human body after many births and has now become connected to the respiratory system. Or, does it refer to Brahma born along with the purusa?

On the Various Meanings of "Earth"

 The learned describe the very same lotus as the terra firma, the Maharsis call it the lotus born of Narayana. Rasā, also known as Padmā Devi, is the earth. The weighty portions of the lotus are the mountains.

It is the bronchial artery, emanating from the Aorta, and supplying oxygenated blood to the bronchial tree (see image below), that is referred to as the "earth" or Padma Devi or "bhu devi" in the Puranas. 

The bronchial arteries supply oxygenated blood and nourish the bronchial conduits and the neural entities that accompany them. They are represented in various (usually feminine) forms in the Puranas. By virtue of their nourishing and life-sustaining nature, they are the clay, as it were, out of which the world is built.

The bronchial tree is the lotus born of the navel of Narayana. There seems to be a number of meanings of the term "earth" in the Puranic literature, all referring generally to the lungs and the human bronchial apparatus, but differing slightly in respect of the precise entity referred to. Sometimes the entire bronchial lotus is meant when the term "earth" is used. Sometimes, when talking from the standpoint of the maha bhutas, "prthvi" would be the bronchial arteries containing the subtle element (tanmatra) of "smell" (gandha) represented by the oxygenated blood. In those contexts, when the triune division of the world is being considered, the realm of "bhu loka" would stand only for the acinus, the truly respiratory portion of the lung, over which "rain" (shower of oxygen molecules) occurs; and so on. In the quote above, taken from the Matsya Purana, it is the bronchial arteries that are being referred to as the "earth." Rasa / Padma Devi is the bronchial artery. 

Deciphering the Clouds (2)

The clouds of the Paksaja type originate from the clipped wings of the mountains. They are called kalpajas (born in the kalpas). These autumnal clouds shower at night towards the close of the kalpa bringing about destruction.

When the Paksaja, Puskara and other clouds shower water, everything becomes a vast sea of water. During the night, the lord lies down there.

 

 The terminal and the respiratory bronchioles are the “wings,” paksas, of the “mountains” (bronchi) and of them are born the alveoli, the “clouds,” also known as the “paksajas,” the ones born of the wings (of the mountains). Indra is said to have clipped the wings of the mountains by means of his vajra. As we have known the “wings” to be the bronchioles, therefore Indra must have utilized his vajra on the bronchioles. By controlling the bronchioles, one controls the “clouds,” the alveoli. This seems to indicate the neural (parasympathetic?) control exerted on the bronchioles. Does Indra—who is also known as the lord of the clouds—represent the Vagus nerve?

It Rains Only in the Acinus

 

The ancient anatomists had a clear distinction in mind, as regards the difference between the conducting and the respiratory portions of the bronchial tree. Oft-repeated statements such as "Indra never sends rain upon the inhabitants of Kimpurusa, etc." very clearly suggest that these "lands" were viewed as belonging to the conducting (non respiratory) section of the bronchial tree. It is only in the acinus or the respiratory portion of the tree that "rainfall," the showering of the alveoli in conjunction with the pouring of the "waters" (deoxygenated blood in the capillaries on the arterial side), occurs. This is a very sophisticated metaphorical scenario crafted by the poet-anatomists of the Puranas.

"Brahma's World" Refers to the Principal Bronchus

 

  Malyavan extends for 1050 yojanas. Men who are born there have the complexion of gold. They have all been dislodged from Brahma’s world and are knowledgeable about the brahman  […] For the sake of protecting beings, they enter the sun. There are 66,000 of them. They surround the sun and travel ahead of the sun. Having been heated by the sun for 66,000 years, they enter the lunar circle.

"Brahma's world" refers to the principal bronchus (Mount Meru). The neural entities ("men") that emanate from the nerve trunk of the principal bronchus and proceed to the lower bronchi have been dislodged, as it were, from "Brahma's world." The neuronal beings in the Puranas represent the intelligent minds of the external world (that operate on matter) and as they are endowed with "intelligence" they are presented as "shining" or "golden." For the sake of "protecting" (innervating), they enter the lobar bronchus – the "sun" or the "chariot of the sun," more specifically [they "travel" in the chariot] – which is positioned just below the primary bronchus (Brahma's world). The Puranics seem to have followed a model in which the neural entities first drop  into the "sun" and from there, split to the other structures in the interior of the lung. For they say that after remaining in close proximity to the sun, these beings proceed to the "lunar circle" which, undoubtedly, is the sphere of the pulmonary veins.

The amrta in the Cosmic Ocean is Derived from the Sap of Trees

 According to the Mahabharata, the amrta in the cosmic ocean is derived from the sap of the trees growing on Mount Mandara which mingled with the waters during the churning of the ocean. Mandara, as we know, is one of the four "buttress mountains" supporting Mount Meru. These are the lobar bronchi that emanate from the principal bronchus (Meru) and form its base, as it were. In accordance with the strategy employed by the Puranics, the hierarchial collection of bronchi – each a tree in its own right – that emanate from the lobar bronchus (Mandara) may be referred to as a forest. The flow of oxygen molecules oozing out from these bronchial trees at the level of the acinus is their "sap." This "sap" then mingles, as it were, with the "waters–" the pulmonary arterial flow of deoxygenated blood contained in the capillaries which have now virtually united and become one with the respiratory conduit (by attaching to the alveoli). The deoxygenated blood becomes reoxygenated [the carbon dioxide molecules also exfiltrate but this fact is not utilized here] and the "waters," via this most wonderful "alchemical transformation," change into amrta, the nectar of the gods (neural entities). The oxygenated blood is the nectar! And this nectar now flows into the pulmonary veins, the "cosmic ocean" of the Puranas!

Why was the Microcosmic Interpretation Not Pursued?

 Why was the microcosm or the microcosmic interpretation not pursued? It may be because scholars and writers delving into the Puranic passages found such an interpretation to be outlandish. Even if some of it seemed likely to them, they were perhaps skeptical of such a reading measuring up to the full range and breadth of the tales contained in the epics and Puranas. Or, even if that was plausible, maybe they were simply unnerved by the largeness of such an undertaking. Or, maybe they possessed not the necessary intellectual wherewithal (adequate knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of the human body, primarily) to muster confidence. 

All these (and more) may have been the reasons behind the neglect to the point of oblivion of the microcosmic interpretation of these ancient texts. But, I will argue, the greatest reason has been the absence in the general religious life of India of a spiritual  discourse centered on the immanence of God. There has not grown religious and cultural traditions, at the popular level at least, which would orient the mass-mind towards a immanent God. Exposure to those texts and commentaries which would produce in the mind a natural affinity for a microcosmic reading, and an intuitive understanding of the implied microcosmic meaning, are also missing. Not that they do not exist, but they have not been made popular enough to exert an influence, intellectually, that is. Instead, other things have been made popular.