On the Strategy of Reuse Employed in the Puranic Texts

There appears to be extreme fluidity in the Puranic texts in defining entities. The same anatomical entities may be referred to by different names and described differently based on the different characteristics present in them. For example, the pulmonary vein may be depicted sometimes as an "ocean" due to it being a store-house of "water" (oxygenated blood), sometimes as a "fruit-tree" due to its nourishing nature and sometimes as the ray of the “moon” (left atrium). In this manner one is represented as many. It is this reuse and recycling that gives rise to the almost blinding variety of entities and characters in the Puranic stories.

The Five Great Elements in the Microcosmic Setting

Just as in the gross elemental theory there are the five great elements (maha bhuta) and their respective properties (guna) referred to as “tanmatra,” so also in the microcosmic account of the Bhagavata and the other Puranas, we have the “gross elements” and the “tanmatras.” These are the various conduits of the human cardio-respiratory system and their respective flows and components. 

The elemental account of evolution and involution of the external universe is thus imaginatively applied to the human body by considering the components of the cardio-respiratory apparatus as the (poetic) analogs of the (external) great elements. In this manner is this account of evolution and involution, which forms so important a part of the Samkhya theory of creation and destruction of the world, translocated into the anatomical and physiological setting.

There are two sides to prakrti–the gruesome, destructive aspect and the beneficial, beatific aspect. 

The pulmonary flow represents nature. It is divided up into two parts, located on either side of the alveolar zone: the destructive flow containing the deoxygenated blood is imagined on the left and the life-promoting oxygenated one is on the right of the bronchial tree. The maha bhutas are the arterial and the venous conduits containing these flows. Now, the akasa element is held to be perhaps that portion of the pulmonary artery that is lying outside the hilum of the lung (in the mediastinum). It is the primary portion. Although in this matter it is quite apparent that there is no clear delineation and akasa may well extend into the region of the earth; the boundaries of the maha bhutas are quite shifty in nature. The great elements therefore act as the transport for prakrti. On the left (destructive) side are the gross elements of wind and fire; and on the right (constructive / nutritive) side are water and earth. Each of these elements appear as the polar opposite of its counterpart on the other side: earth provides support and food while wind can destroy and destabilize; the diametrically opposite nature of fire and water needs no elaboration. The fire of deoxygenated blood is immediately transformed into the water of the oxygenated flow by the operation of the alveolar mechanism.

deoxy. blood) also has the character of fire. The deadly halahala resembles fire; fire comes out of Ananta's mouth and burns the worlds at the time of the destruction of the world. This "burning " takes place at the level of the acinus.

Left Atrium Metaphorized (II): The Ocean and the Waters

The left atrium is the ocean[H1] . It contains an enormous quantity of “water” (see below). (The orb of the moon (left atrium) is said to be only “congealed water.”)

Oxygenated blood is the “waters.”

The pulmonary veins are oceans, containing “waters” (oxygenated blood).

The pulmonary vein oceans carry the (nectarine) waters (into the great left atrium ocean).

In the Vayu Purana, in the description of (the oceans surrounding Plaksa and other dvipas), the author clarifies on the increase and decrease in magnitude of the oceans. An ocean encompassing a dvipa is, in size, twice that of the previous one. The oceans are bodies containing copious amounts of water. 

In the Vayu Purana (49.131), we have the ocean being called “udadhi” on account of it being the store-house of waters:

udakasyādhānaṃ yasmāñca tasmādudadhirucyate

There are thus two distinct components: (1) the waters and (2) the ocean (containing that water). There is neither increase nor decrease in the amount of water. It remains the same. What changes is the “size” of the ocean. A simple analogy is applied—that of water being heated in a cooking pot. Just as the same water swells and expands in size with the increase in temperature, so also the (same) water in the ocean swells (49.128):

ukhāmyamagnisaṃyogāt jalamudricyate yathātathā mahodadhigataṃ toyamudricyate tataḥ

We have, also, in the Visnu Purana:

In this manner the seven island continents are encompassed successively by the seven oceans, and each ocean and continent is respectively of twice the extent of that which precedes it. In all the oceans the water remains at all times the same in quantity, and never increases or diminishes, but like the water in a caldron, which, in consequence of its combination with heat, expands, so the waters of the ocean swell with the increase of the moon. The waters, although really neither more nor less, dilate or contract as the moon increases or wanes in the light and dark fortnights.

This “swelling” of the waters comes about through the increase in the size of the water-body, the ocean.[1] The increase (and decrease) in the ocean again is the result of the waxing (and the waning) of the moon (49.129).

kṣayavṛddhirevamudadheḥ somavṛddhikṣayātpunaḥ

As one moves towards the alveolar zone, the “waters” (oxygenated blood) remain the same in volume; however are distributed across multiple, smaller oceans. Or: the same ocean expands in magnitude, as it were, (owing to increase in the number of pulmonary vein conduits) with the water remaining constant. The increase in the number of pulmonary vein conduits also represents the waxing of the moon and therefore, one may say: with the waxing of the moon, the ocean expands (although the volume of water remains constant); and reversely, with the waning of the moon, the ocean contracts (although the volume of water remains constant).

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[1] As one can observe from the actual situation below, this “increase in size” of the ocean is a rather figurative use of the term as it refers not to a literal increase but to an increase in the number of distribution channels (conduits).

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 [H1]Alternatively, the moon may not be represented as a ocean; it may simply be referred to as an orb of congealed water (oxygenated blood). Only the PV conduits may be referred to as oceans.

Left Atrium Metaphorized (I): The Moon and its Rays

The left atrium is the moon.

Oxygenated blood is amrta / soma.

The pulmonary veins are the rays / parts (kala) of the moon.

The moon’s rays are the carrier of nectar (into the moon). Or, the moon is the receptacle of nectar.

The moon waxes as one moves towards the alveolar zone; the number of its rays increases. (There are 10 rays / kalas at the segmental level.)

The moon wanes as one moves from the alveolar region towards the left atrium.

The left atrium could be represented as “moon with no ray” (amavasya); then, at the alveolar level, we would have “moon with all its rays” (purnima).

As the moon’s rays increase / the moon waxes, the total amount (volume) of amrta does not increase; the same amount is distributed across the rays / parts.

On the Identity of the “Moon” of the Puranas

The “moon” in the Puranas is the left atrium of the heart.[1]  It is the receptacle of “nectar” (oxygenated blood). The pulmonary venous conduits are its various “portions” or “rays.”

http://www.pvsnetwork.org/uploads/8/8/7/6/88764776/published/vanderlaan-1heartreference-rev-01.jpg?1485549219

The oxygenated blood contained in the “moon” (left atrium) is the nectar, the famous amrta of the Puranas, also known by the name of the rasa of Soma. This nectar sustains all the entities (cells) of the universe (microcosm). In the Bhagavata (5. 22.10), we have:

ya eṣa ṣoḍaśa-kalaḥ puruṣo bhagavān manomayo 'nnamayo 'mṛtamayo deva-pitṛ-manuṣya-bhūta-paśu-pakṣi-sarīsṛpa-vīrudhāṃ prāṇāpy āyana-śīlatvāt sarvamaya iti varṇayanti

And this glorious person comprising of sixteen digits (in his fullness) viz. the Moon, is the presiding deity over the mind, the ruler (and giver) of food and an embodiment of nectar. The sages describe him as one with all, as he is, by nature, the nourisher of the life of all gods, manes, men, goblins, beasts, birds, reptiles, plants and creepers.

The chariot of the moon is said to be drawn by horses that are born of the waters. These without doubt refer to the pulmonary venous conduits. And, like the horses of the sun, these too travel till the end of the kalpa which is the Puranic code for the alveolar zone of the lung.

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[1] In the Puranas, the moon’s orb is said to be only “congealed water” (oxygenated blood). The term “congealed” is perhaps applied to imply storage rather than transmission.

Meru and its Dimensions

Meru, without doubt, refers to the primary portion of the tracheo-bronchial tree. Determining its limits and boundaries requires careful consideration of several key passages describing this central mountain.

The Puranas speak of the city of Brahma on the summit of Meru or on the “top” of Meru. This city has been identified by this author as the deep cardiac plexus on the carina surrounding which there are the “cities” of Indra (the Vagus nerve?) and the other “guardians of the world” (lokapalas).
According to the Brahma Purana, the city of Brahma (the deep cardiac plexus) is not situated on the summit of this great mountain but only at an elevation of 14,000 yojanas. This factoid regarding the location of “Brahma’s city” does not seem to exist in the other Puranas.
After careful observation, it is found that the trachea represents the “top” of Meru and the two principal bronchi the “base” or “root” (mula) of Meru[H1] . The top is of diameter 32,000 y. all throughout and the root is 16,000.
Sridhara Svami, in his commentary on the verses in the Visnu Purana, remarks that it is because of this characteristic—the extensiveness (vistrtatvan) at the top (murdhni) and constriction (sankucitatvad) at the bottom (mule)—that Meru is referred to as the pericarp (karnika) of the lotus of the earth.[1]
After due consideration of the relevant passages, it appears that it is purely the trachea, denominated as the “top” of Meru, that is said to be 1 lac yojanas in height. “Meru” is therefore only the “top of Meru” (the trachea) and in such a reckoning, the primary bronchi which are designated as the “base” of this grand mountain are not taken into consideration. They are not taken to be “Meru.”
16,000, out of this 1 lac yojanas, is said to be situated “below the earth.” The remaining 84,000 of the height of the trachea is said to constitute its visible portion. The Brahma Purana’s statement that the city of Brahma is situated at a height of 14,000 yojanas on the “summit” of Meru is therefore the same distance measured from the inferior boundary of the trachea—the carina—upwards[H1]  and does not include the primary bronchi.

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 [H1]By this definition, therefore, Brahma’s city would be below the level of the earth and not above it. It seems to be therefore very much confined to the terrestrial (thoracic) realm.

Conventionally, Brahma’s seat is in the top of the pericarp (karnika) of the divine lotus, the tracheo-bronchial tree. This pericarp, as we see, is the trachea and the two primary bronchi taken together. The trachea represents the top of this pericarp (which is also Meru). The deep cardiac plexus is found at the level of the carina which, being of the trachea, is  definitely on the top portion of the pericarp of the lotus of the earth. Brahma’s seat therefore is on the summit of Meru, the trachea, the top of the pericarp of the lotus of the earth. 

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[1] ataeva murdhni vistrtatvan mule sankucitatvat bhumadhyavasthanacca bhurupasya padmasya karnikakarena samsthitah // 9 //

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 [H1]Meru thus follows an inverted tree structure. It is the great asvattha tree of samsara referred to by Krsna in the Bhagavad Gita (vv. 15.2-3). The principal bronchi are, like the (central) tree, also inverted (sub) trees. They resemble Meru.

The Trachea: the Sun in the Puranas

The “sun” is the code for “trachea” in the Puranas. Strictly speaking, it must be the respiratory epithelium contained within the wall of hyaline cartilage that must be so called; the sun, the respiratory conduit, divides itself up into several parts in the form of bronchi; these constitute the rays of the sun. The respiratory epithelium rides, as it were, the “chariot” of the trachea and the bronchi. The walls of the tracheal and the bronchial airways constitute the chariot of the sun; however, for convenience’s sake, we may simply refer to the sun as “trachea” (and his rays as “bronchi”).

Figure 1 "Surya in chariot." https://www.rarebooksocietyofindia.org/postDetail.php?id=196174216674_10152421277051675

The two halves of the lungs may be considered to be the two portions of the earth-globe. The trachea (sun) is stationed right between these two halves in the mediastinum—the antariksa—which, apart from being the “solar sphere,” is also the realm of the “moon” (the left atrium of the heart) and the other “celestial luminaries!”

The symmetry of the lungs coupled with the central position of the heart provides the philosopher-scientists of the Puranas with a great opportunity to translocate astronomical concepts into the microcosm, the body of man.

On the Identity of the Matsya Avatara of Visnu

pātālādutpatiṣṇormakaravasatayo yasya pucchābhighātā-
dūrdhvaṃ brahmāṇḍakhaṇḍavyatikaravihitavyatyayenāpatanti |
viṣṇormatsyāvatāre sakalavasumatīmaṇḍalaṃ vyaśnuvānā-
stasyāsyodīritānāṃ dhvanirapaharatādakṣriyaṃ vaḥ kṣrutīnām 1

The mention of Matsya jumping up (utpatisnu) from Patala in this opening verse of the Matsya Purana provides a great clue with regard to the identity of Matsya.

The impression one gets from these opening verses of the Matsya Purana is that Matsya, the primeval piscis, is the zoomorphic representation of the respiratory diaphragm. It is easy to understand why the diaphragm would be regarded as the very first descent of the Lord into the microcosm. Being the primary muscle of inspiration, the diaphragm is without doubt one of the most important entities of the cardio-respiratory framework. It supports the heart and the lungs and it is the inferior-superior movement of the diaphragm that provides the chief mechanism, from the point of view of respiratory mechanics, for breathing—inspiration as well as expiration—of the jiva. The respiratory diaphragm is thus, in this perspective, the very support of the jiva. It is Ananta; the jiva is Visnu. Ananta resides below Patala, the subterranean region; this is the region below the heart and the lungs. 

Puranic Geography: On the “River” Ganga

The tale of the Ganga in the Puranas is not the tale of an external geographic entity but, rather, it is the tale of a (special) river-like microcosmic entity that has importance in the cardio-respiratory framework.

The Landscape of the Puranas.

Source of Image Used in Developing Graphic:

https://www.med-ed.virginia.edu/courses/rad/cxr/anatomy6chest.html

In the metaphorical framework of the Puranas, the term "river" seems to denote a flow (see illustration above) such as the flow in the blood vessels. Therefore, we may have such "topographical" entities as venous "rivers" and "rivers" formed out of "juice!" Therefore, the veins are the rivers in the Puranas.

The Ganga represents venous circulation. It washes away the "sins" of beings! The poet-anatomists of the Puranas view the Ganga as descending from Brahmaloka, the highest region of the (body) universe. This is the region of the brain. The internal jugular vein (Ganga) drains the brain and, exiting the skull, descends from the cervical (heavenly) region into the pulmonary zone—the "earth” of the Puranas.

...she is spoken of as threefold, three-pathed...is said to issue from the world of Brahman and to fall like milk from Mount Meru into the lake of the moon, which her own fall has created, after being upheld for one hundred thousand years on Siva's head.[1]

In the passage above, the "world of Brahman" is the brain. The (venous flow of the) internal jugular vein (Ganga) issues from it and falls, as it were, from the trachea (mount Meru). Its "waters," then, are upheld on the brachiocephalic vein ("Siva's head?") before it falls into the right atrium of the heart ("the lake of the moon").

The Ganga thus descends from the sky and falls, as it were, into the earth. But the Ganga cannot directly do so. First, it has to fall into the "sphere of the moon" (the heart) and only then does it re-emerge from it to enter the "earth" (the respiratory zone). This is in the form of the pulmonary artery.

According to the Bhagavata Purana:

Later on, it (the stream) descends by the path of gods (i.e. sky), teeming with multitudes of thousands of crores of celestial cars, to the sphere of the Moon. After flooding the lunar sphere, the stream (of the Bhagavatpadi) flows down to the city of Brahma (on the summit of Mount Meru).[2]

The heart is also known as Patala, the nether-world, in the Puranas. And, therefore, the Ganga is three-fold. It flows through all three regions of:

1. the sky (cervical region)
2. earth (the lungs) and
3. the nether-world (heart).

She is three-fold as the river of sky, earth, and the lower regions, tripathaga, trilokaga, etc.[3]

The passage above refers to the venous flow (Ganga) as the internal jugular vein in the cervical region (“sky”), as the (deoxygenated) blood in the heart ("lower regions") and as the pulmonary artery in the lungs ("earth").

The river Ganga is said to divide over mount Meru into four (principal?) branches, all flowing towards the "ocean:"

There, on mount Meru, it is divided into four branches under four names:--Sita, Alakananda, Caksu and Bhadra, and it (i.e, these branches) flows towards four quarters and enters into the ocean, the Lord of big and small rivers.[4]

The venous flow of the heavens—the "river" Ganga—now emerges from the intra-cardial region as the pulmonary trunk. The Ganga (as the main pulmonary artery) divides above (anterior to) mount Meru (the trachea) into four branches—the four pulmonary arteries (see figure above), corresponding to the lobes of the lungs.

And, finally, the waters of the Ganga reach the "ocean." The term “ocean” in the Puranas refers to the layer of parietal pleura surrounding the substance of the lungs, which is apposed to the alveoli. The flow of deoxygenated blood (Ganga) thus, ultimately, reaches the level of the alveoli. This is the implied meaning.

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[1] Epic Mythology, Edward Washburn Hopkins, pp. 5-6.

[2] Bhagavata Purana, 5.17.4, Tagare (trans).

[3] Epic Mythology.

[4] Bhagavata Purana, 5.17.5, Tagare (trans).

Deciphering the Microcosmic Code of the Vedanta and the Purana: Why is it Necessary

It is essential that we decipher the microcosmic code of the Vedanta and the Purana if we desire to understand the rationale behind sole-refuge (eka sarana). It is essential because without knowing what the different personalities and entities really represent—and, as an extension, what their functions really are—one cannot hope to perceive the difference between the dharmic religion of microcosmic emulation and the bhaktic path of pure devotion; the diametrically opposite nature of these two paths will not be known. Most importantly, in such a scenario, one will not know the difference between a minuscule-part (amsa) manifestation of primal matter (prakrti) and a minuscule-part (amsa) manifestation  of God (Isvara), which is critical (from an adherent's point of view) to obtaining release from prakrti. It is only in ignorance (avidya, ajnana, maya) that the pure personality (purusa) does the worship of prakrti and its evolutes; only in the state of ignorance he thinks himself to be a part of primal matter and considers himself one of the material entities of the microcosm—mind, senses, organs, vital airs, etc.—which are now his friends and family-members, as it were!

It is this false apprehension and non-discrimination that forms the basis of his entrapment in the cycle of births and deaths (samsara). The spiritual purusa, instead of knowing himself to be the ksetrajna, the ‘knower of the field,’ thinks himself as wholly material and follows internally the ‘religion’ (dharma) of the material units and serves the powerful material microcosmic units, the ‘gods’ (devas), ‘sages’ (rsis), etc. who are, in truth, none else but the powerful sensory and motor entities of the microcosm. Externally, this takes the form of emulation; of certain ‘ordained’ acts (karmas) which imitate his internal microcosmic activities. It is the sum-total of these microcosmic emulations that have come to be collectively known as ‘dharmas.’ These dharmas are also referred to as ‘vidhi kinkara dharmas’ on account of their microcosmic origin and roots.

The term ‘vidhi kinkara’ means ‘mind-ordained;’ ‘vidhi’ is an epithet for Brahma, the personified material mind (referred to in this discussion as simply the ‘mind’). As these dharmas are aimed to simulate the material processes of the body, specifically the sensory-motor neural processes which are overseen, as it were, by the brain—the material ‘mind’ or vidhi—, they are known as vidhi kinkara (mind-ordained).

Such a system of dharma can be sustained only in ignorance (avidya, maya).

Only when purusa is in ignorance regarding his true self; only when he does not know himself to be a purely non-material (spiritual) entity—a part (amsa), as it were, of Isvara—can such a dharma be sustained. It is only for this reason that the supreme verdict of the Gita, which encapsulates its entire teaching in a single utterance, is:

sarva dharman parityajya mamekam saranam vraja.

‘Forsaking completely all these dharmas, take sole-refuge (eka sarana) in me alone.’

Further, pursuing such a course of microcosmic material emulation would prove wholly ruinous, spiritually, for the practitioner. ‘Propitiating’ material entities will sink the purusa further into prakrti. Instead of serving as a means to release, such a path will only lead to the entrapment of purusa. 

In summary, the whole set of vidhi kinkara dharmas are for the kinkaras (subjects, slaves) of vidhi—of Brahma, the microcosmic mind. It is for those individuals that are a servant or a slave of vidhi. These are for the material entities of the body that are subordinate to the mind. This dharma, therefore, is simply incompatible with the philosophy of one who has known himself to be a part of Isvara (and not of prakrti); as a wholly spiritual personality (purusa, atman) that is ontologically superior to and different in kind from the unconscious material entities of prakrti. It is only when one is in ignorance that one performs these acts (karmas) on account of non-discrimination (which results in identifying oneself with the mind and the body, thus becoming a slave, kinkara, of the mind, vidhi). The vidhi kinkara dharmic system is diametrically opposite to the bhaktic path of pure devotion.

In this manner, we see how the great philosophy and meaning of the Gita (and indeed of the Vedanta and the Purana) would not be understood, let alone appreciated, if the microcosm and its constituent elements and ‘personalities’ are first not understood. We have, in order to decipher the meaning of the Vedanta and the Purana—and the Purana is here regarded as the continuum of the Vedanta—, first decipher the microcosmic code contained within these texts. As a preliminary, we have to know what personalities like Brahma represent; we have to know what the devas and the rsis represent and also the real internal—microcosmic—meaning of words such as ‘yajna.’ Only when we have entered into the world of the microcosm will our intellect open up to a deeper comprehension of meaning.

The Trinity of Hinduism: the Philosophical Basis

The Trinity of Hinduism: The Philosophical Basis. Brahma is manas, Visnu is the purusa and Siva is kala. Image used in developing graphic: Alamy Stock Photo.

If one were to search the primary texts of the Hindu religion for the philosophical basis of the trinity of “gods”—Brahma, Visnu and Siva—then one will find that the mapping behind these three entities is as follows:  

1. Brahma is manas.
2. Siva is kala.
3. Visnu is purusa.

All these three entities of kala, purusa and manas have microcosmic significance. All three are located within the body. The “stories” associated with each one of them take place within the body.

Brahma (manas) is the brain, the “mind-organ.” Visnu (purusa) is the spiritual personality within the body. Ontologically, Visnu is of the same essential nature as God, the supreme purusa. Siva (kala) is also translocated within the body by the ancient philosopher-scientists. Siva seems to be associated with organs such as the lungs and is viewed as one of the chief controlling entities (devas) of the respiratory process.

Understanding the philosophical basis of the three entities really paves the way for a deeper understanding of Hinduism. But the tragedy is that even in scholarly tomes this philosophical basis is neglected and often not disclosed. Instead terms like “gods,” “deities” etc. are applied.

This is unfortunate because there exist several passages in the Puranas which clearly reveal the identity of these three “gods.” For instance, we have in the Siva Purana:

As Brahma he has Sattva and Rajas, as Kala Tamas and Rajas, as Visnu he has Sattva alone. Thus the increase of Gunas in the Lord is threefold.
As Brahma he creates the worlds, as Kala he condenses; as Purusa he sustains; he is indifferent. Thus the activity of the lord is threefold.

Similarly, in the Vayu Purana, it is said:

In the capacity of Brahma, he becomes the four-faced creator; in the capacity of Kala, he is the destroyer; in the capacity of Purusa (Visnu), he is the thousand-headed lord.

As regards the identity of Brahma, the Vayu Purana says:

The terms Manas, Mahat, Mati, Brahma [...] are synonymous, so say the learned people.

None of these entities is, in reality, the supreme purusa

It must be realized that these three entities—the trinity of Hinduism—are only regarded as forms of the supreme purusa (God). They are not the supreme purusa. They are three subordinate entities. The supreme purusa transcends them all and indeed it is at this level of a higher and deeper understanding of entities that the truly learned operate. Madhavadeva, in his Nama Ghosa, underlines this supreme nature of God when he says, in his analysis (namanvaya) of the name “Kesava” of God, that while the padas “k,” “a” and “isa” stand respectively for Brahma, Visnu and Mahesa, it is Narayana (the supreme entity) who, as the particle “va,” is stringing together this trinity:

ক্‌, অ, ঈশ পদে, ব্ৰহ্মা বিষ্ণু মহেশ্বৰ
প্ৰতি প্ৰতি তিনিৰো অন্বয় .
ৱ পদে নাৰায়ণে, তিনিকো আছয় ছান্দি
এহি হেতু কেশৱ বোলয় .. ১৪৩ ..

Sometimes the supreme purusa is also referred to by some of the epithets of subordinate entities and this creates confusion. It is without doubt such confusion that has led to misinterpretation and misunderstanding and has created sectarian tendencies and a feeling of "many gods" in the minds of the people but, in reality, there is only one God, the supreme purusa.

As an example, one may consider the following passage from the Siva Purana:

O Vyasa, Siva’s region is wonderful and beautiful. It has no support. It shines with different objects. It cannot be specifically described.
The presiding deity of that region is Siva. He is the crest-jewel of all the gods. He is worthy of being served by Visnu, Brahma and Siva. He is the unsullied great soul.

In this passage, the first “Siva” refers to the supreme purusa (God) while the second “Siva” is kala.

Deciphering the Puranas, or any primary text for that matter, is no easy job. It needs careful consideration. Else, we should be ready to lapse into misinterpretation.

On the Motif of the "Respiratory Man"

It appears that in the painting of Visnu as the “cosmic” or “universal” man, the entire cardio-respiratory apparatus is represented as a man. The different components and controlling entities of this system are mapped onto the body, as it were, of the system—as its arms and legs and so on.

Image Source: 1. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WLA_vanda_Vishnu_as_the_Cosmic_Man.jpg

2. https://media.lanecc.edu/users/driscolln/RT127/Softchalk/regulation_of_Breathing/regulation_of_Breathing_print.html

This body, the “Respiratory Man,” is viewed as the body of purusa or Visnu, the spiritual personality.

The controlling entities (devas) like Indra, Varuna, etc. are located in the arms while the entities like the heart and the diaphragm seem to be mapped on to the feet (of this system).

Is it because the devas are the neural entities (nerves), bestowing operative power (represented by the arms) on the system? And are the cardiac components (asuras) and the pleura and diaphragm (the snakes) seen as providing the locomotive power (the legs)?

One important thing to note about this “Respiratory Man” is that it maps only the cardio-respiratory apparatus of the body. Its organs correspond only to the constituent parts and organs of this system; and therefore, this virtual body extends only up to the end of the thoracic cavity in the (real) human body. It is for this reason that the “feet” of this Respiratory Man are seen to rest on Ananta, the thoracic diaphragm.

This is an interesting model. The spiritual personality inhabiting the body cannot be seen. Yet his interface with its various systems (like the respiratory which has a non-autonomic dimension) is clearly seen. Therefore, in a certain sense, it is the system that models the (invisible) body of the spiritual personality and its working.

There is clearly a purely mechanical aspect of breathing (pulmonary ventilation) involving the respiratory muscles, the parietal and visceral pleura and the alveoli; and a neurological control of it involving the cortex of the brain, respiratory centers in the brain-stem, nerves, sensory receptors, etc. Both these aspects appear to have been fully recognized in this conception of a “Respiratory Man.”

Unbeknownst to many, terms like dharma and rta in the texts of the Vedas and the Puranas have a meaning entirely different from the conventional (non-microcosmic) one. These refer to the maintenance of the process of respiration in the body of the jiva engaged in by the neural entities (for a discussion on this topic based on passages from the Gita, see this earlier post). It is therefore a purely respiratory dharma. The “men” (neural entities, nerve cells) of the microcosm do karma (neuronal activity) to maintain this dharma.

Further, is this the tantra way of conceiving God, which is referred to by Sankaradeva also in his Bhakti Ratnakara? “Tantra” means “system” and therefore, the tantrika worship, in the light of this model, would mean worshiping God in the form of a system (the respiratory system). God’s body is conceived as a system (comprising parts) and worshiped. But of course, whether such a form of worship is warranted by scripture or whether it is the aim of the text to prescribe any such worship at all is a different matter and out of the scope of this discussion.

Brahma is the Personification of the Brain in the Puranas

In his Six Systems of Hindu Philosophy (p. 383), F.M. Muller writes:

Manas, generally translated by mind, but really a kind of central organ of perception, acting as a door-keeper, meant to prevent the crowding in of perceptions, to arrange them into percepts...One might feel inclined to translate Manas by brain...

Muller might have been hesitant to translate manas by "brain," but, to the reader engaged in interpreting the symbols  and personalities of the Puranas through the (profoundly) microcosmic literature of Sankaradeva, it soon becomes pretty apparent that manas represents the brain, the "mind-organ," and that Brahma is the personification of it in the Puranic texts. 

Understanding a Microcosmic Painting: 1. Brahma is the brain. 2. The lotus is the trachea (or bronchial tree). 3. Ananta is the respiratory diaphragm. Visnu is purusa, the spiritual personality (in the microcosm). Brahma atop the lotus seems to indicate neural control of breathing.

The Geography of the Puranas

The descriptions of the Puranas are neither mythical nor literal. They are, in fact, anatomical. The primary texts of Hinduism (such as the Puranas) are all microcosmic. The ancient seers philosophized on the basis of the body of the jiva. They translocated the "outside" entities into the microcosm. Specifically, they focused on the respiratory mechanism. [In this context, it is extremely surprising that nobody has yet written a book (or even a paper) on the microcosmic basis of the Puranas. There is no discussion at all. All are busy looking "outside!"]

Located at the body's midline, Mt. Meru (the trachea) is the axis mundi of the respiratory world. The external earth is translocated into the respiratory zone, in the Puranas.

According to the Bhagavata Purana, this "earth" is like a lotus and Jambudvipa is its innermost compartment. And in the centre of this "continent" is the golden mountain Meru.

In the Puranas, "Jambudvipa" is a region of the lung. "Bharatavarsa" is within this respiratory zone.

In the metaphorical framework of the Puranas, the term "river" seems to denote a flow such as the flow in the blood vessels, for instance. Therefore, we may have such "topographical" entities as venous "rivers" and "rivers" formed out of "juice!"

Therefore, the veins are the "rivers" in the Puranas. 

The tale of the Ganga in the Purana is not the tale of an external geographical entity but, rather, it is the tale of a (special) river-like microcosmic entity that has importance in the cardio-respiratory framework. 

Ganga in the Puranas represents venous circulation. It washes away the "sins" of beings!

The General Structure of the Universe

The general structure of the universe, the "cosmic egg" (brahmanda) in the Puranas is given below. The ancient philosophers of the body split up the microcosm into a number of regions known as "lokas." There are a total of fourteen lokas but the important ones are depicted in the following illustration:

Considering this structure of the universe, the statements of the Puranas would not appear to be so hyperbolic! Mt. Meru, for instance, does indeed reach up to heaven. The earth is indeed perched on a serpent!