of the essence of the elementary creation, i. e. the material
creation: the lowest form in which Brahman (n.) or the
Supreme Soul is considered as manifesting itself in its world-
ly and conscious existence.--In the Taittirīya-Upan. anna
of which the material creation is made, is the product of
herbs, these of earth and so on in retrogression, of the
elements water, fire and æther, the latter being the first
product of the Supreme Soul; it would appear therefore
that Brahman (n.) as annamayakośa, in this Upanishad,
is the totality of the animal kingdom only, since the vegetable
kingdom precedes the creation of anna which is called also
sarvauṣadha (see anna 2. 2.) and the beings (prajāḥ or bhūtāni)
originating in anna, are represented as living through it
(‘atho'nenaiva jīvanti’); but as anna on the other hand,
is the essence of the elements preceding it, this form of
Brahman would become in the Upanishad, constructively,
the same that it is in the Vedānta explicitly, viz. the to-
tality of the whole material creation. Yet while the Upa-
nishad uses the terms æther, air, fire, water and earth to
denote the elements in a general sense, the Vedānta dis-
tinguishes between ideal (sūkṣma) and real (sthūla) elements
and makes the annamayakośa proceed from the latter which
are an artificial mutual combination of portions of the former
(see bhūta, sūkṣmabhūta and sthūlabhūta); and while the Upanishad
contents itself with the general idea of totality, as expressed
above, the Vedānta distinguishes between the conception
that may be formed of the Supreme Soul as unity in this
totality of the material creation (comp. samaṣṭi) and the con-
ception that may be formed of it as multiplicity in it (comp.
vyaṣṭi); as unity it is called vaiśvānara or virāj, as multi-
plicity viśva, in either case it is jāgrat.--The forms superior
to the annamayakośa are in successive gradation prāṇamayakośa,
manomayakośa, vijñānamayakośa and ānandamayakośa qq. vv.
(the word kośa being supplied, in the Upanishad, by the
comm. to annamaya &c.). Compare also sūkṣmaśarīra and sthū-
laśarīra. E. annamaya and kośa. Also written annamayakoṣa.