Chapter 17, Verse 8
आयुःसत्त्वबलारोग्यसुखप्रीतिविवर्धनाः | रस्याः स्निग्धाः स्थिरा हृद्या आहाराः सात्त्विकप्रियाः ||१७-८||
āyuḥsattvabalārogyasukhaprītivivardhanāḥ . rasyāḥ snigdhāḥ sthirā hṛdyā āhārāḥ sāttvikapriyāḥ ||17-8||
Meaning
17.8 The foods which increase life, purity, strength, health, joy and cheerfulness (good appetite), which are savoury and oleaginous, substantial and agreeable, are dear to the Sattvic (pure) people.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Krishna describes sattvic food with remarkable practicality. These are foods that ayuh-sattva-bala-arogya — extend life, build purity, lend strength, and sustain health, while bringing genuine joy and cheerfulness. They are rasya (flavourful), snigdha (wholesome and smooth), sthira (substantial, giving steady nourishment), and hridya (pleasing to the heart). Such food supports both body and mind in their natural balance.
The teaching is gentle and life-affirming. Sattvic eating is not grim asceticism or joyless restriction; it is choosing what nourishes deeply and steadies the inner being. What we take in becomes the ground of our thoughts and moods. By favouring foods that promote clarity, vitality, and contentment, we quietly cultivate a mind capable of higher reflection and a body fit to serve the soul's purposes.
💡 Key Takeaway
Choose foods that nourish life, health, and a calm mind — sattvic eating is wholesome and joyful, not grim restriction.
Related Verses
श्रीभगवानुवाच | त्रिविधा भवति श्रद्धा देहिनां सा स्वभावजा | सात्त्विकी राजसी चैव तामसी चेति तां शृणु ||१७-२||
śrībhagavānuvāca . trividhā bhavati śraddhā dehināṃ sā svabhāvajā . sāttvikī rājasī caiva tāmasī ceti tāṃ śṛṇu ||17-2||
17.2 The Blessed Lord said Threefold is the faith of the embodied, which is inherent in their nature the Sattvic (pure), the Rajasic (passionate) and the Tamasic (dark). Do thou hear of it.
आहारस्त्वपि सर्वस्य त्रिविधो भवति प्रियः | यज्ञस्तपस्तथा दानं तेषां भेदमिमं शृणु ||१७-७||
āhārastvapi sarvasya trividho bhavati priyaḥ . yajñastapastathā dānaṃ teṣāṃ bhedamimaṃ śṛṇu ||17-7||
17.7 The food also which is dear to each is threefold, as also sacrifice, austerity and almsgiving. Hear thou the distinction of these.
कट्वम्ललवणात्युष्णतीक्ष्णरूक्षविदाहिनः | आहारा राजसस्येष्टा दुःखशोकामयप्रदाः ||१७-९||
kaṭvamlalavaṇātyuṣṇatīkṣṇarūkṣavidāhinaḥ . āhārā rājasasyeṣṭā duḥkhaśokāmayapradāḥ ||17-9||
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.