Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 4 - Chapter 1 - Verse 11


Sanskrit:

नलिनी नालिनी नासे गन्ध: सौरभ उच्यते ।घ्राणोऽवधूतो मुख्यास्यं विपणो वाग्रसविद्रस: ॥ ११ ॥

ITRANS:

nalinī nālinī nāsegandhaḥ saurabha ucyateghrāṇo ’vadhūto mukhyāsyaṁvipaṇo vāg rasavid rasaḥ

Translation:

The two doors named Nalinī and Nālinī should be known as the two nostrils, and the city named Saurabha represents aroma. The companion spoken of as Avadhūta is the sense of smell. The door called Mukhyā is the mouth, and Vipaṇa is the faculty of speech. Rasajña is the sense of taste.

Purport:

The word avadhūta means “most free.” A person is not under the rules and regulations of any injunction when he has attained the stage of avadhūta. In other words, he can act as he likes. This avadhūta stage is exactly like air, which does not care for any obstruction. In Bhagavad-gītā (6.34) it is said: “The mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Kṛṣṇa, and to subdue it is, it seems to me, more difficult than controlling the wind.” Just as the air or wind cannot be checked by anyone, the two nostrils, situated in one place, enjoy the sense of smell without impediment. When the tongue is present, the mouth continually tastes all kinds of relishable foodstuffs.