In the sixth prasna, Sukesa, the son of Bharadvajah, asked Sage Pippalada the question: “Please tell me who is this person, this purusha of sixteen points?”
Sage Pippalada says: “Yes, I know. Even here within the body, oh dear boy, is that person, in whom the sixteen parts arise! He says that the Supreme Person, of sixteen parts, that you are searching for does not reside anywhere outside. He is right there within you.”
The Sankhya system of philosophy of the great Rishi, Kapila (who is called so since his hair was golden), talks of the self of the sixteen parts and calls it the Linga Sharira or the subtle body; and here, the same thing is referred to with slight modifications.
The Purusha reflects says: “In whose departure shall I be departing and in whose settling down shall I be settling down?”
The Purusha created life. From life, He created faith, ether, air, light, water, earth, sense organs, mind and food. From food, He created vital vigour, austerity, hymns, works, and worlds; and in the worlds, He created names. Name–Nama! Now, Nama here suggests individuation.
It’s only by giving a name to something, a label, that one distinguishes one thing from the other.
Therefore, that Supreme Being of the sixteen parts creates, or from him, proceeds life, which means, prana, energy.
Sa Pranam Asrjata
The sixteen parts tending towards the Person (Purusha), on reaching the Person, disappear.
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