kaṭv-amla-lavaṇāty-uṣṇa-
tīkṣṇa-rūkṣa-vidāhinaḥ
āhārā rājasasyeṣṭā
duḥkha-śokāmaya-pradāḥ
Translation of Bhagavad Gita 17.9
Foods that are too bitter, too sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry and burning are dear to those in the mode of passion. Such foods cause distress, misery and disease.
Commentary by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
No commentary by Srila Prabhupada.
Commentary by Sri Vishvanatha Chakravarthi Thakur of Gaudiya Sampradaya:
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.
Commentary by Sri Ramanuja of Sri Sampradaya:
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.
Commentary by Sri Sridhara Swami of Rudra Sampradaya:
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.
Commentary by Sri Madhvacharya of Brahma Sampradaya:
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.
Commentary by Sri Keshava Kashmiri of Kumara Sampradaya:
Lord Krishna commences with the three-fold divisions of foods with the words ayuh-sattva meaning promoting longevity. Food that promotes spiritual knowledge which is the quality of intelligence has been corroborated previously in chapter XIV.XVII stating that: Wisdom verily arises out of sattva guna the mode of goodness. Whereas greed and lust are the by products of raja guna the mode of passion and lethargy and nescience is produced by those in tama guna the mode of ignorance. The word bala meaning strength and refers to food that gives the power to perform one’s duty. Foods that are pleasant to eat, that bestow mental tranquillity, that are sustaining and easily digestible, that are nourishing and their essence remains invigorating the body even after digested are the foods which are dear to those endowed with the qualities of sattva guna.
Foods which are extremely acidic, salty, spicy, pungent and bitter such as azadirachta indica or burning such as chillies which burn the mouth, throat and stomach simply bring about distress and misery which leads to sickness and disease. The prefix aty meaning extremely at the end of the word lavanaty meaning extremely bitter applies to all the descriptions up to vidadhinah which means burning. Such foods are dear to those characterised with raja guna.
Foods which are half cooked, insipid, stale, tasteless, polluting, contaminated or leftovers from someone and foods that are forbidden to offer to the Supreme Lord such as meat, fish, fowl, eggs, onions, garlic, mushrooms, wine, alcohol, etc. are the foods of choice for those situated in tama guna.
The obvious conclusion is that those who are spiritually motivated and desire their best self interests should conscientiously avoid all foods characterised by raja guna and tama guna and resort exclusively to foods that are of sattva guna.
Commentary by Sri Adi Shankaracharya of Advaita Sampradaya:
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.
Commentary by Sri Abhinavagupta of Kaula Tantra Sampradaya:
17.7-10 Aharah etc. upto tamasapriyam. What is old : that for which [three] yamas have elapsed [after cooking].
Sanskrit Shloka Without Transliteration Marks:
katv-amla-lavanaty-usna-
tiksna-ruksa-vidahinah
ahara rajasasyesta
duhkha-sokamaya-pradah
Sanskrit to English Word for Word Meanings:
kaṭu — bitter; amla — sour; lavaṇa — salty; ati-uṣṇa — very hot; tīkṣṇa — pungent; rūkṣa — dry; vidāhinaḥ — burning; āhārāḥ — food; rājasasya — to one in the mode of passion; iṣṭāḥ — palatable; duḥkha — distress; śoka — misery; āmaya — disease; pradāḥ — causing.
