Text 18
tvacam asya vinirbhinnāṁ
viviśur dhiṣṇyam oṣadhīḥ
aṁśena romabhiḥ kaṇḍūṁ
yair asau pratipadyate
tvacam — skin; asya — of the gigantic form; vinirbhinnām — being separately manifested; viviśuḥ — entered; dhiṣṇyam — the controlling deity; oṣadhīḥ — sensations; aṁśena — with parts; romabhiḥ — through the hairs on the body; kaṇḍūm — itching; yaiḥ — by which; asau — the living entity; pratipadyate — experiences.
When there was a separate manifestation of skin, the controlling deities of sensations and their different parts entered into it, and thus the living entities feel itching and happiness due to touch.
For sense perception there are two principal items, touch and itching, and both of them are controlled by the skin and hairs on the body. According to Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī, the controlling deity of touch is the air passing within the body, and the controlling deity of the hairs on the body is Oṣadhya. For the skin the object of perception is touch, and for the hairs on the body the object of perception is itching.