By Swami Harshananda
Annamaya-kośa literally means ‘the food-sheath’.
It is the physical body born out of anna or food and nourished by food. Like a kośa or sheath, it covers the self and prevents the experience of its true nature. It is the first of the five such kośas (pañcakośas). It is destroyed when a person dies. It is also called sthula-śarīra or the gross body, the first of a series of three śarīras.
References[edit]
- The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore