यातयामं गतरसं पूति पर्युषितं च यत्।
उच्छिष्टमपि चामेध्यं भोजनं तामसप्रियम्।।17.10।।
17.10 Food which is not properly cooked, lacking in essence, putrid and stale, and even ort and that which is unfit for sacrifice, is dear to one possessed of tamas.
17.10 That which is state, tasteless, putrid, rotten, refuse and impure, is the food liked by the Tamasic.
17.10. What is old, bereft of taste, ill-smelling, and stale; what is also left after eating, and is impure - such a food is dear to the men of the Tamas (Strand).
17.10 यातयामम् state? गतरसम् tasteless? पूति putrid? पर्युषितम् rotten? च and? यत् which? उच्छिष्टम् refuse? अपि also? च and? अमेध्यम् impure? भोजनम् food? तामसप्रियम् liked by the Tamasic.Commentary Cannabis indica (Ganja)? Bhang? opium? cocaine? Charas? Chandoo? all stale and putrid articles? are Tamasic.Yatayamam Stale? literally means cooked three hours ago. Yatayamam and Gatarasam mean the same thing.Paryushitam Rotten The cooked food which has been kept overnight.Uchchishtam What is left on the plate after a meal.The man whose taste is of a Tamasic nature will eat food in the afternoon that has been cooked on the previous day. He also likes that which is halfcooked or burnt to a cinder. He and all the members of his family sit together and eat from the same dish or plate? food that has been mixed into a mess by his children.The food eaten by Tamasic people is stale? dry? without juice? unripe or overcooked. They do not relish it? till it begins to rot and ferment. They take prohibited foods and drinks. They take liors? fermented toddy? etc. They are horrible people with devilish tendencies.
17.10 Bhojanam, food; which is yata-yamam, not properly cooked [Yata-yamam lit. means crooked three hours ago, that which has lost its essence; but here it is translated as not properly cooked to avoid tautology, for the next word gata-rasam, too, means lacking in essence.-Tr.] (-because food that has lost its essence is referred to by the word gatarasam-); gata-rasam, lacking in essence; puti, putrid; and paryusitam, stale, cooked on the previous day and kept over-night; and even ucchistam, ort, remnants of a meal; and amedhyam, that which is unfit for sacrifice;- this kind of food is tamasa-priyam, dear to one possessed of tamas. Now then, sacrifices of three kinds are being stated:
17.7-10 Aharah etc. upto tamasapriyam. What is old : that for which [three] yamas have elapsed [after cooking].
17.10 Stale (Yatayamam) means that food which has lost its original state, being kept for a long time. Tasteless (Gatarasam) means that which has lost its natural taste. Putrid (Puti) means emitting a bad smell. Decayed (Paryusitam) means aciring a rancidity by lapse of time. Refuse (Ucchistam) means the food that has remained over after being partaken by persons other than Gurus, etc. Unclean (Amedhyam) is that which is not fit for offering in sacrifice or worship. The meaning is that, being unfit for offering in worship, they cannot become the sacrificial remainder. Foods of this kind which promote the growth of Tamas are dear to those who are characterised by Tamas. Food (Bhojana) means that which is eaten. Tamasik food promotes further increase of Tamas. Hence, those persons who care for their own welfare by the growth of Sattva, should eat food charaterised by Sattva.
Yata yamam means food which has remained three hours (yamam) after cooking, or in other words, that which has become cold after cooking. Gata rasam means food from which the natural taste is missing, or has been extracted, or such items as the skin and seed of the ripe mango. Puti means bad smelling. Paryusitam means over-ripe. Ucchistam refers to the leftovers other than that from the guru or other similar persons. Amedyam means inedible items such as kalanja. From reviewing the list of foods, one should conclude that those interested in their own welfare should partake of sattvika foods. The vaisnavas however reject any food not offered to the Lord, even if it is sattvika food. Food offered to the Lord is dear to the devotees beyond the gunas. This is understood from the Bhagavatam.
Foods that bequeath longevity, full of energy, bestow good health and vigour with happiness and satisfaction are relished by those in sattva guna the mode of goodness. Such foods in sattva guna particularly increase life and are juicy, savoury, rich and nourishing, like invigorating serum which remains long in the body and are agreeable and pleasing to the palate. Foods of this type which are chewed, licked, sucked and drunk are relished by those situated in sattva guna. Foods that are excessively bitter, sour, pungent, salty, spicy, dry or burning are very much liked by those situated in raja guna the mode of passion. Such foods cause pain even while eating them which leads to distress of the body, misery, depression and subsequent disease and sickness all produced by these foods. Food cooked more than three hours before, that is cold, tasteless, without aroma, stale, decomposed and foods that are amedhyam or forbidden for offering to the Supreme Lord such as meat, fish, fowl, eggs, wine, alcohol, garlic, onions and mushrooms which come from fungus and are impure are preferred by those in tama guna the mode of ignorance.
Eating foods that are of sattva guna the mode of goodness are pleasurable. Joyfulness is the immediate result. Whatever continues to be pleasurable is joyous to hrdya the heart. Even if all foods are cooked they all do not get digested the same. Ghee and honey are absorbed into the body directly, fruits take an hour to digest and vegetables and grains up to six hours. Some foods although bitter are agreeable to health such as kerala or bitter melon and some foods although sour like yoghurt are agreeable to health if not taken at night. Both of these are of sattva or goodness. Such is the nature of the pious and the saintly and that nature is maintained by the intake of foods that are sattva. The Shabda Niranya states: Hridyam is that which is pleasing to the heart and makes one desire for more. Pleasure is what is pleasing for the moment. Sukham or happiness is that which continues to keep one joyous long after the activity has ended. That food which retains its agreeability even after consuming repeatedly is rasyam which is delicious and nutritious. But when foods are excessively bitter, spicy, salty. sour, pungent, etc. and result in discomfort and misery culminating in sickness and disease they are of raja guna the mode of passion. The food which is eaten more than three hours after it is cooked is known as yatama. When the food is tasteless it is also called yatayama. Food that once was flavourful but later becomes later has no taste is known as gatarasyam. The Suddhasastra states that one devoted to serving the Supreme Lord Krishna or any of His authorised incarnations should thoroughly understand the nature and quality of food.
To those who are situated in sattva guna the mode of goodness, foods that are of the nature of sattva or goodness such as milk, fruits, grains and vegetables are very dear. Such foods promote long life, invigorating the body and elevating the mind in its function of intelligence. As was confirmed earlier in chapter XIV verse XVII: From the quality of sattva guna knowledge arises. Sattva guna facilitates spiritual knowledge and likewise food that is sattva also facilitates spiritual intelligence as well as good health, strength, happiness and relish. The word sukla meaning happiness refers to the pleasure experienced while ingesting the food and afterwards when it is digesting and assimilating within the body. The word priti means satisfaction that is derived from the intake of pure foods inspiring congenial interest in spiritual activities. The word rasayam means succulent, delectable. Snigdhah means oleaginous, unctuous. Sthirah means nourishing, sustaining. Hrydha means agreeable, pleasing. These are the qualities of sattva foods which are very much appreciated by those in sattva guna. Foods that are acidic, bitter, salty, sour, spicy, pungent, dry, hard or burning are the foods that those in raja guna are very much attracted to. The word tiksna refers to food of no value because they are either to cold or to hot. Raksa are foods which are to dry and hard. Vidhahinah are those foods that cause a burning sensation in the body. These foods produce pain, distress, sickness and misery and decreases longevity of life and increase desires for more and more rajas or passion. The foods liked by those in tama guna the mode of ignorance are yata-yaman meaning stale, foods that are old from the previous day, foods cooked more than a yama which is literally three hours before. Gata-rasam means those foods which have lost their original flavour and have become tasteless. Puti means putrid, possessing a foul smell. Paryusitam means decomposed, unrecognisable. Ucchistam means eating the remains of others food after they have eaten. This does not apply to honouring the remnants of mahaprasadam or sanctified food first offered to Lord Krishna and then eaten by the spiritual preceptors who mercifully leaves some for their devotees which is then glorified by them as maha mahaprasadam. Amedhyam means unsanctified foods due to not having been consecrated by first offering it to the Supreme Lord and thus impure. Partaking of foods in tama guna such as meat, fish, fowl, eggs, wine, alcohol, etc. breeds dark nescience and great ignorance. So in conclusion those fortunate jivas or embodied beings with spiritual insight should absolve themselves from the intake of foods in raja guna and tama guna and resort exclusively to foods in sattva guna.
To those who are situated in sattva guna the mode of goodness, foods that are of the nature of sattva or goodness such as milk, fruits, grains and vegetables are very dear. Such foods promote long life, invigorating the body and elevating the mind in its function of intelligence. As was confirmed earlier in chapter XIV verse XVII: From the quality of sattva guna knowledge arises. Sattva guna facilitates spiritual knowledge and likewise food that is sattva also facilitates spiritual intelligence as well as good health, strength, happiness and relish. The word sukla meaning happiness refers to the pleasure experienced while ingesting the food and afterwards when it is digesting and assimilating within the body. The word priti means satisfaction that is derived from the intake of pure foods inspiring congenial interest in spiritual activities. The word rasayam means succulent, delectable. Snigdhah means oleaginous, unctuous. Sthirah means nourishing, sustaining. Hrydha means agreeable, pleasing. These are the qualities of sattva foods which are very much appreciated by those in sattva guna. Foods that are acidic, bitter, salty, sour, spicy, pungent, dry, hard or burning are the foods that those in raja guna are very much attracted to. The word tiksna refers to food of no value because they are either to cold or to hot. Raksa are foods which are to dry and hard. Vidhahinah are those foods that cause a burning sensation in the body. These foods produce pain, distress, sickness and misery and decreases longevity of life and increase desires for more and more rajas or passion. The foods liked by those in tama guna the mode of ignorance are yata-yaman meaning stale, foods that are old from the previous day, foods cooked more than a yama which is literally three hours before. Gata-rasam means those foods which have lost their original flavour and have become tasteless. Puti means putrid, possessing a foul smell. Paryusitam means decomposed, unrecognisable. Ucchistam means eating the remains of others food after they have eaten. This does not apply to honouring the remnants of mahaprasadam or sanctified food first offered to Lord Krishna and then eaten by the spiritual preceptors who mercifully leaves some for their devotees which is then glorified by them as maha mahaprasadam. Amedhyam means unsanctified foods due to not having been consecrated by first offering it to the Supreme Lord and thus impure. Partaking of foods in tama guna such as meat, fish, fowl, eggs, wine, alcohol, etc. breeds dark nescience and great ignorance. So in conclusion those fortunate jivas or embodied beings with spiritual insight should absolve themselves from the intake of foods in raja guna and tama guna and resort exclusively to foods in sattva guna.
Yaatayaamam gatarasam pooti paryushitam cha yat; Ucchishtamapi chaamedhyam bhojanam taamasapriyam.
yāta-yāmam—stale foods; gata-rasam—tasteless; pūti—putrid; paryuṣhitam—polluted; cha—and; yat—which; uchchhiṣhṭam—left over; api—also; cha—and; amedhyam—impure; bhojanam—foods; tāmasa—to persons in the mode of ignorance; priyam—dear
