Chapter 15, Verse 8
शरीरं यदवाप्नोति यच्चाप्युत्क्रामतीश्वरः | गृहीत्वैतानि संयाति वायुर्गन्धानिवाशयात् ||१५-८||
śarīraṃ yadavāpnoti yaccāpyutkrāmatīśvaraḥ . gṛhitvaitāni saṃyāti vāyurgandhānivāśayāt ||15-8||
Meaning
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 Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna now explains the mechanics of reincarnation with one of the most beautiful images in all of scripture. The soul, here called īśvara because it is the lord of its own body, does not perish when the body dies. At the moment of death it gathers up the senses and the mind — along with the subtle impressions and tendencies they carry — and travels onward to a new birth.
The comparison is exquisite: just as a breeze passing over flowers carries their fragrance away to another place, so the departing soul carries its accumulated mental and sensory dispositions from one life into the next. The body falls away like a faded blossom, but the perfume of our character, habits, and unfulfilled desires moves on. This reveals why the inner work of purifying our desires matters so profoundly — the fragrance we cultivate now is exactly what we carry forward.
💡 Key Takeaway
At death the soul carries its mental impressions to a new life, as a breeze carries fragrance from flowers.
Related Verses
अधश्चोर्ध्वं प्रसृतास्तस्य शाखा गुणप्रवृद्धा विषयप्रवालाः | अधश्च मूलान्यनुसन्ततानि कर्मानुबन्धीनि मनुष्यलोके ||१५-२||
adhaścordhvaṃ prasṛtāstasya śākhā guṇapravṛddhā viṣayapravālāḥ . adhaśca mūlānyanusantatāni karmānubandhīni manuṣyaloke ||15-2||
15.2 Below and above spread its branches, nourished by the Gunas; sense-objects are its buds; and below, in the world of men, stretch forth the roots, originating action.
ममैवांशो जीवलोके जीवभूतः सनातनः | मनःषष्ठानीन्द्रियाणि प्रकृतिस्थानि कर्षति ||१५-७||
mamaivāṃśo jīvaloke jīvabhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ . manaḥṣaṣṭhānīndriyāṇi prakṛtisthāni karṣati ||15-7||
15.7 An eternal portion of Myself having become a living soul in the world of life, draws to (itself) the (five) senses with the mind for the sixth, abiding in Nature.
श्रोत्रं चक्षुः स्पर्शनं च रसनं घ्राणमेव च | अधिष्ठाय मनश्चायं विषयानुपसेवते ||१५-९||
śrotraṃ cakṣuḥ sparśanaṃ ca rasanaṃ ghrāṇameva ca . adhiṣṭhāya manaścāyaṃ viṣayānupasevate ||15-9||
15.9 Presiding over the ear, the eye, touch, taste and smell, as well as the mind, it enjoys the objects of the senses.