The Goldmine of Metaphor

 The imaginative power of the ancient philosopher-scientists investigating into the nature of reality knew no bounds. They viewed the cardio-respiratory apparatus which they had adopted as a miniature model of the universe as a goldmine of metaphor. The various conduits and structures within this system were compared to different entities of the external world on the basis of similarity of some attribute or feature. The entities that were so mapped were numerous and very diverse, ranging from celestial bodies to topographical entities to man-made objects. The bronchial tree, for instance, was referred to very famously in the Puranas as a great lotus or as an inverted asvattha tree (as by Krsna in the Gita). Its different components were often zoomorphised. It is not possible here to provide an exhaustive list of all the metaphors that were applied; nor is it necessary to do so. It will suffice for our purpose to simply reveal some of the more important and famous ones which are often detectable in manuscript paintings and other visual representations. 

The Goldmine of Metaphor. The bronchial tree and its various components was compared to a tree, a lotus, the sun (and its rays), mountains, an egg, a chariot (with horses), a cow and a collection of islands.