The City of Nine Gates [the Material Body]
नवद्वारे पुरे देही नैव कुर्वन्न कारयन् ॥ १३ ॥
sannyasyāste sukhaṁ vaśī
nava-dvāre pure dehī
naiva kurvan na kārayan
sarva — all; karmāṇi — activities; manasā — by the mind; sannyasya — giving up; āste — remains; sukham — in happiness; vaśī — one who is controlled; nava-dvāre — in the place where there are nine gates; pure — in the city; dehī — the embodied soul; na — never; eva — certainly; kurvan — doing anything; na — not; kārayan — causing to be done.
When the embodied living being controls his nature and mentally renounces all actions, he resides happily in the city of nine gates [the material body], neither working nor causing work to be done.
Purport by MGDAS
For an in-depth study of the city of nine gates [the material body], please study the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto 4: The Creation of the Fourth Order, Chapter twenty-five: The Descriptions of the Characteristics of King Purañjana, Chapter twenty-six: King Purañjana Goes to the Forest to Hunt, and His Queen Becomes Angry, Chapter twenty-seven: Attack by Caṇḍavega on the City of King Purañjana; the Character of Kālakanyā, Chapter twenty-eight: Purañjana Becomes a Woman in the Next Life and Chapter twenty-nine: Talks Between Nārada and King Prācīnabarhi.
Summary study
The Layout of the Nine Gates
The Bhāgavatam names each gate and details exactly which sense organ and directional interaction it represents:
The Eastern Gates (Front of the Body):
Khadyotā (Glowworm) and Āvirmukhī (Torchlight) – The two eyes. King Purañjana uses them to look at shapes and forms.
Nalinī and Nālinī – The two nostrils. The King passes through them to experience aromas in the country of Saurabha (fragrance).
Mukhyā (The Chief Gate) – The mouth. Used for the two functions of the tongue: Vāpa (speaking) and Rasajña (tasting food).
The Northern and Southern Gates (Sides of the Head):
Āsurī (Northern) and Devahū (Southern) – The two ears. The King uses them to hear acoustics and soundscapes.
The Western Gates (Lower/Subterranean Openings):
Āsurī / Āsuri – The genital organ, used for procreation and lower pleasure.
Vaiṣasa – The anus, used for evacuation.
The City's Architecture & Inhabitants
Beyond just the gates, Canto 4 fills the city with a complex web of characters representing biology and psychology:
The Walls and Towers: The skin acts as the perimeter wall, the body hairs are the parks, and the head/nose are the towers.
The Five-Headed Serpent: Represents the Prāṇa (the five vital life airs: prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, samāna, udāna) defending the city while the King sleeps.
Queen Purañjanī: Represents Buddhi (material intelligence). The soul becomes completely co-dependent on her, adopting her desires and moods.
The 11 Bodyguards: Represent the mind and the 10 senses (5 working senses, 5 knowledge-acquiring senses).
The Destruction of the City (body)
The Bhāgavatam tracks the lifecycle of this city (the body) up to its ultimate destruction:
Caṇḍavega (Time) attacks the city with his 360 soldiers (the days and nights of the year).
Kālakanyā (Old Age/Chronological Decay) invades and breaks down the city's infrastructure.
Prajvāra (The deadly fever or illness preceding death) sets the entire city on fire.
The Soul (Purañjana) is forced to evacuate the burning city, totally bewildered because he identified himself as the owner of the house rather than a passing tenant.
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