Annamaya

Annamaya kosha is the outermost layer in the Vedantic model of a human being, known as the gross body. The term means “sheath made of food,” reflecting its composition from the physical matter ingested and metabolized by the body. It corresponds to the tangible body, including muscles, bones, organs, and the senses, and is nourished by food and air. This sheath is subject to hunger, thirst, aging, illness, and death.

Together with the other four koshas, Annamaya kosha forms the totality of the self in the pancha-kosha framework: Pranamaya kosha (vital energy), Manomaya kosha (mind), Vijnanamaya kosha (intellect), and Anandamaya kosha (bliss). The Annamaya kosha enshrines the more subtle layers and serves as the interface between the individual and the external world, through which perception and action occur. Identification with this gross body is the ordinary basis of personhood in daily life, but it is regarded as only a superficial sheath.

In yoga and Vedanta, practices such as asana, pranayama, purification, ethical conduct, and meditation aim to harmonize or transcend attachment to the Annamaya kosha, guiding awareness toward the subtler koshas and ultimately toward realization of the true Self (Atman) beyond bodily identification. The concept appears in various Upanishadic and Vedantic discussions, and has been expounded in modern yoga literature as a framework to understand the relationship between the physical body and higher consciousness.