Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.26.43

kledanaḿ piṇḍanaḿ tṛptiḥ

prāṇanāpyāyanondanam

tāpāpanodo bhūyastvam

ambhaso vṛttayas tv imāḥ

SYNONYMS

kledanam — moistening; piṇḍanam — coagulating; tṛptiḥ — causing satisfaction; prāṇana — maintaining life; āpyāyana — refreshing; undanam — softening; tāpa — heat; apanodaḥ — driving away; bhūyastvam — being in abundance; ambhasaḥ — of water; vṛttayaḥ — the characteristic functions; tu — in fact; imāḥ — these.

TRANSLATION

The characteristics of water are exhibited by its moistening other substances, coagulating various mixtures, causing satisfaction, maintaining life, softening things, driving away heat, incessantly supplying itself to reservoirs of water, and refreshing by slaking thirst.

PURPORT

Starvation can be mitigated by drinking water. It is sometimes found that if a person who has taken a vow to fast takes a little water at intervals, the exhaustion of fasting is at once mitigated. In the Vedas it is also stated, āpomayaḥ prāṇaḥ: "Life depends on water." With water, anything can be moistened or dampened. Flour dough can be prepared with a mixture of water. Mud is made by mixing earth with water. As stated in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, water is the cementing ingredient of different material elements. If we build a house, water is actually the constituent in making the bricks. Fire, water and air are the exchanging elements for the entire material manifestation, but water is most prominent. Also, excessive heat can be reduced simply by pouring water on the heated field.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness