Food affects consciousness.
Krishna speaks to Arjuna
आयुःसत्त्वबलारोग्यसुखप्रीतिविवर्धनाः |रस्याः स्निग्धाः स्थिरा हृद्या आहाराः सात्त्विकप्रियाः ||१७-८||
āyuḥsattvabalārogyasukhaprītivivardhanāḥ . rasyāḥ snigdhāḥ sthirā hṛdyā āhārāḥ sāttvikapriyāḥ ||17-8||
Use this verse before planning meals.
Meaning
Foods dear to sattvic people increase life, purity, strength, health, happiness, and satisfaction; they are juicy, nourishing, steady, and pleasing to the heart.
Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).
In plain words
Sattvic food nourishes life, clarity, health, and inner satisfaction.
Word-by-word meaning
Tap a word to see its meaning.
Explanation
Krishna defines food by its effect on body and mind. Sattvic eating is not only diet culture; it supports clarity, steadiness, health, and gentle joy.
Read the traditional 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.
In daily life
Choose food that leaves you clear, steady, and nourished.
A person may notice that fresh, balanced meals help meditation and work focus.
Try this today
Eat one sattvic, nourishing meal with gratitude.
I choose food that supports clarity and health.Reflect
Which foods make me feel clear and steady?
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Quick check
What does ‘आहाराः सात्त्विकप्रियाः’ mean in this verse?
Krishna on purity, in other chapters
- Verse 3.13Receive life's gifts as something first offered and shared, and even eating becomes purifying rather than self-centred.
- Verse 4.21Action done with a disciplined mind, free of expectation and possessiveness, leaves no stain on the soul.
- Verse 5.7When you act with a pure heart and see the one Self in all beings, your work no longer binds you.
- Verse 6.27When passion is stilled and the heart is pure, supreme bliss comes to you of its own accord.
Swipe left for 17.9 · Overstimulation feeds rajas.
Questions about Bhagavad Gita 17.8
Who says Bhagavad Gita 17.8, and to whom?
Krishna speaks to Arjuna in verse 17.8, in Chapter 17, Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga (Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga).
What does Bhagavad Gita 17.8 mean?
Foods dear to sattvic people increase life, purity, strength, health, happiness, and satisfaction; they are juicy, nourishing, steady, and pleasing to the heart. (Translation: Gita Guidance (original English rendering).)
What is the lesson of Bhagavad Gita 17.8 for daily life?
Choose food that leaves you clear, steady, and nourished. A person may notice that fresh, balanced meals help meditation and work focus.
What do the Sanskrit words in Bhagavad Gita 17.8 mean?
आयुः सत्त्व बल आरोग्य सुख प्रीति विवर्धनाः — increasing life, purity, strength, health, happiness, and delight; रस्याः — savoury, juicy; स्निग्धाः — oleaginous, smooth; स्थिराः — substantial, nourishing; हृद्याः — agreeable to the heart.
Where does verse 17.8 come in the Bhagavad Gita?
It is verse 8 of 28 in Chapter 17, Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga. The next verse is 17.9.