kledanaá¹ piṇá¸anaá¹ tá¹›ptiḥ
prÄṇanÄpyÄyanondanam
tÄpÄpanodo bhÅ«yastvam
ambhaso vá¹›ttayas tv imÄḥ
kledanam - moistening; piṇá¸anam - coagulating; tá¹›ptiḥ - causing satisfaction; prÄṇana - maintaining life; ÄpyÄyana - refreshing; undanam - softening; tÄpa - heat; apanodaḥ - driving away; bhÅ«yastvam - being in abundance; ambhasaḥ - of water; vá¹›ttayaḥ - the characteristic functions; tu - in fact; imÄḥ - these.
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, Äpomayaḥ prÄṇaḥ: “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 ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, 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.