Chapter 17, Verse 9
कट्वम्ललवणात्युष्णतीक्ष्णरूक्षविदाहिनः | आहारा राजसस्येष्टा दुःखशोकामयप्रदाः ||१७-९||
kaṭvamlalavaṇātyuṣṇatīkṣṇarūkṣavidāhinaḥ . āhārā rājasasyeṣṭā duḥkhaśokāmayapradāḥ ||17-9||
Meaning
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.
Word-by-Word Meaning
Explanation & Commentary
Rajasic food is marked by extremes — overly bitter, sour, salty, scorching, sharp, dry, and inflaming. These are the foods of intensity, craved by a restless, passion-driven temperament that seeks excitement and stimulation in everything, even the plate. Pleasing in the moment, they ultimately yield duhkha-shoka-amaya: pain, sorrow, and disease.
The deeper teaching is about the seduction of overstimulation. The rajasic mind chases sharp sensations and immediate gratification, but the long-term cost is agitation of body and spirit. What thrills the senses now can corrode wellbeing later. Krishna's point is not to demonise spice or flavour but to expose a pattern: a life governed by craving for intensity tends to burn itself out, sowing the seeds of suffering in the very pursuit of pleasure.
💡 Key Takeaway
Constantly chasing intense stimulation — in food or in life — thrills for a moment but breeds agitation and suffering over time.
Related Verses
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.
आयुःसत्त्वबलारोग्यसुखप्रीतिविवर्धनाः | रस्याः स्निग्धाः स्थिरा हृद्या आहाराः सात्त्विकप्रियाः ||१७-८||
āyuḥsattvabalārogyasukhaprītivivardhanāḥ . rasyāḥ snigdhāḥ sthirā hṛdyā āhārāḥ sāttvikapriyāḥ ||17-8||
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.
यातयामं गतरसं पूति पर्युषितं च यत् | उच्छिष्टमपि चामेध्यं भोजनं तामसप्रियम् ||१७-१०||
yātayāmaṃ gatarasaṃ pūti paryuṣitaṃ ca yat . ucchiṣṭamapi cāmedhyaṃ bhojanaṃ tāmasapriyam ||17-10||
17.10 That which is state, tasteless, putrid, rotten, refuse and impure, is the food liked by the Tamasic.