कट्वम्ललवणात्युष्णतीक्ष्णरूक्षविदाहिनः।
आहारा राजसस्येष्टा दुःखशोकामयप्रदाः।।17.9।।
17.9 Foods that are bitter, sour, salty, very hot, pungent, dry and burning, and which production pain, sorrow and disease, are dear to one having rajas.
17.9 The foods that are bitter, sour, saline, excessively hot, pungent, dry and burning, are liked by the Rajasic and are productive of pain, grief and disease.
17.9. The foods that are killed by men of the Rajas (Strand) are those which are bitter, sour, saltish, very hot, harsh, dry, and burning; and which cause pain, grief and disease.
17.9 कट्वम्ललवणात्युष्णतीक्ष्णरूक्षविदाहिनः those that are bitter? sour saline? excessively hot? pungent? dry and burning? आहाराः foods? राजसस्य of the Rajasic? इष्टाः are liked? दुःखशोकामयप्रदाः are productive of pain? grief and disease.Commentary Excessively This alification should be taken to apply to each of the seven alities -- thus? excessively saline? and so on.Food of a passionate nature produces restlessness in the mind? evil thoughts? excitement? craving now for one thing and then for another? pain? trouble and disease. The Rajasic man always plans to prepare various kinds of preparations to satisfy his palate. He takes salt? chillies? mustard? cloves? condiments? pungent pickles? etc.? in excess. Tears flow from his eyes and water dribbles from his nose and yet he will not leave the hot and pungent articles. The palate remains unsatisfied until the stomach is completely filled with pungent things? till the tongue is burnt with chillies. Ladysfinger? Puri? Kachori? pungent condiments? meat? fish? eggs? sweets? potato? fried bread? curd? brinjal? carrots? blackgram? onions? garlic? lemon? Masur? tea? coffee? betels? tobacco are Rajasic artciles of food.
17.9 Foods that are katu-amla-lavana-atyusna-tiksna-ruksa-vidahinah, bitter, sour, salty, very hot (-very is to be connected with all, viz bitter etc.; that is very bitter, very sour, and so on-), pungent, dry [Without fat.] and burning; and duhkha-soka-amaya-pradah, which produce pain, sorrow and disease; [Pain, immediate suffering; sorrow, grief arising from not having that desired food.] are rajasasyaistah, dear to one having rajas.
17.9 See Comment under 17.10
17.9 The foods that are bitter, sour, very salty, over-hot, very pungent, dry and burning, are those that they the taste (Rasa) of bitterness and sourness, that are inordinately salty, hot, pungent, and that are dry and burning. Pungent foods are those which are unsuitable and difficult to be taken by others because of their being ver cold, ver hot etc. Dry things are those which cause the feeling of dryness in the eater. Burning foods are those which cause burning sensation. Foods of this kind are relished by men of Rajasik nature. They promote pain, sorrow and disease.
In this list the adjective “extremely” should be added to each quality. Very bitter food (katu) means such food as nima. Very sour, very salty and very hot foods are well known. Very sharp foods (tiksna) are tumeric root and other items, or pepper. Very drying foods (ruksa) are hing and kodrava. Burning foods (vidahinah) are those that cause internal heat, such as burned chick peas. These cause suffering (duhkha), lamentation (soka), and disease (amayam). The word suffering here refers to suffering when eating, causing pain to the tongue, throat or other organ. Lamentation means afterward, in the future, those foods cause despair. Amaya means disease.
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.
Katvamlalavanaatyushna teekshna rooksha vidaahinah; Aahaaraah raajasasyeshtaa duhkhashokaamayapradaah.
kaṭu—bitter; amla—sour; lavaṇa—salty; ati-uṣhṇa—very hot; tīkṣhṇa—pungent; rūkṣha—dry; vidāhinaḥ—chiliful; āhārāḥ—food; rājasasya—to persons in the mode of passion; iṣhṭāḥ—dear; duḥkha—pain; śhoka—grief; āmaya—disease; pradāḥ—produce
