Text 45
saptopari kṛtā dvāraḥ
puras tasyās tu dve adhaḥ
pṛthag-viṣaya-gaty-arthaṁ
tasyāṁ yaḥ kaścaneśvaraḥ
sapta — seven; upari — up; kṛtāḥ — made; dvāraḥ — gates; puraḥ — of the city; tasyāḥ — that; tu — then; dve — two; adhaḥ — down; pṛthak — different; viṣaya — to places; gati-artham — for going; tasyām — in that city; yaḥ — one who; kaścana — whoever; īśvaraḥ — governor.
Of the nine gates in that city, seven were on the surface and two were subterranean. A total of nine doors were constructed, and these led to different places. All the gates were used by the city’s governor.
The seven gates of the body that are situated upward are the two eyes, two nostrils, two ears and one mouth. The two subterranean gates are the rectum and the genitals. The king, or the ruler of the body, who is the living entity, uses all these doors to enjoy different types of material pleasures. The system of opening different gates to different places is still evident in old Indian cities. Formerly a capital was surrounded by walls, and one passed through various gates to go to various cities or toward specific directions. In Old Delhi there are still remnants of surrounding walls and various gates known as the Kashmiri Gate, the Lahori Gate, etc. Similarly, in Ahmedabad there is a Delhi Gate. The point of this simile is that the living entity wants to enjoy different types of material opulences, and to this end nature has given him various holes in his body that he can utilize for sense enjoyment.