Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 15, Verse 14

अहं वैश्वानरो भूत्वा प्राणिनां देहमाश्रितः । प्राणापानसमायुक्तः पचाम्यन्नं चतुर्विधम्

ahaṃ vaiśvānaro bhūtvā prāṇināṃ dehamāśritaḥ | prāṇāpānasamāyuktaḥ pacāmyannaṃ caturvidham

Translation

Abiding in the body of living beings as Vaiśvānara, associated with Prāṇa and Apāna, I digest the four-fold food.

— Alladi Mahadeva Sastri

Word meanings

aham

I

vaiśvānaraḥ

Vaishvānara

bhūtvā

having become

prāṇinām

of living beings

deham

the body

āśritaḥ

sheltered in

prāṇāpānasamāyuktaḥ

with the in-breath, and, with the out-breath, and, united

pacāmi

(I) cook

annam

food

caturvidham

fourfold

Śaṅkarācārya's commentary

Vaiśvānara: the fire abiding in the stomach, as said in the śruti: "This fire is Vaiśvānara, which is within man and by which this food is digested" (Bṛ. Up. 5.9.1). Four-fold food: the food which has to be eaten by mastication, that which has to be sucked out, the food which has to be eaten by devouring, and that which is eaten by licking.