hindu-selfWe're still mapping where this idea was first discussed. Key passages and related ideas below.
The Food Sheath (Annamaya-Kośa)
The outermost layer: the body 'made of food,' the shell most easily mistaken for the self.
The annamaya-kośa is the 'sheath made of food' — the physical body, so called because it is literally built and maintained by what we eat. It is the most obvious and outermost layer of the self, and the one people most readily mistake for who they are. Recognizing it as only the outer shell, not the core, is the first step in the inward analysis of the self.
Key passages(5)
Vivekacūḍāmaṇi 154↗explains
Vivekacūḍāmaṇi · Śaṅkara (traditionally ascribed; authorship doubted)
Very high
High
High
High
Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 1,3.17↗explains
Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad · Vedic Revelation (śruti)
Moderate