Text 8

ayuh-sattva-balarogya-
sukha-priti-vivardhanah
rasyah snigdhah sthira hrdya
aharah sattvika-priyah

Translation

Foods dear to those in the mode of goodness increase the duration of life, purify one’s existence and give strength, health, happiness and satisfaction. Such foods are juicy, fatty, wholesome, and pleasing to the heart.

Commentary by Srila Prabhupada

No commentary by Srila Prabhupada.

Commentary by Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur

It is well known that sattvika foods increase the life span (ayuh). They also increase strength of will (sattva) as well as physical strength, freedom from disease, happiness and delightfulness in eating them. The food should be tasty or juicy (rasyah). Jaggery has taste but is coarse or dry. Sattvika food should also be mild, with oil (snigdha). The foam of milk, though tasty and mild, is insubstantial. Sattvika food should be substantial, with long lasting effect in the body (sthira). Jack fruit and other items are sweet, mild, and substantial, but are not beneficial to the stomach and other organs. Sattvika food should be beneficial to the heart, stomach and other organs (hrdya) as well. Thus it is understood that foods such as rice, wheat, other grains, milk and sugar are dear to the sattvika people, because they have all four of the above mentioned qualities. As those foods are dear to them, the foods are understood to be sattvika. However, even if food has those four qualities, if it is impure, the sattvika people do not like it. Thus, purity should be added as a quality of sattvika food. One should compare the description of tamasic food mentioned later. The adjective used to describe tamasic food is amedhya, ritually impure, not to be offered in sacrifice.