Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17, Verse 10

Chapter 17 – Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

यातयामं गतरसं पूति पर्युषितं च यत् ।
उच्छिष्टमपि चामेध्यं भोजनं तामसप्रियम् ॥

Transliteration

yātayāmaṃ gatarasaṃ pūti paryuṣitaṃ ca yat .
ucchiṣṭamapi cāmedhyaṃ bhojanaṃ tāmasapriyam ॥

Meaning

Food that is stale, tasteless, putrid, left overnight, the leftovers of others and impure is dear to the tamasic.

Word meanings

यातयामम् – stale, cooked long ago (or half-cooked)
गतरसम् – tasteless, its essence gone
पूति – putrid, foul-smelling
पर्युषितम् – left overnight, rotten
च – and
यत् – that which
उच्छिष्टम् – leftovers of others
अपि च – and also
अमेध्यम् – impure, unfit for offering
भोजनम् – food
तामसप्रियम् – dear to the tamasic

Anvaya (word order)

यत् यातयामं गतरसं पूति पर्युषितं च, उच्छिष्टम् अपि च अमेध्यं भोजनं (तत्) तामसप्रियम् (भवति) ।

Explanation

The last of the three kinds is tamasic food, of which six marks are given. Yatayamam: a yama is a watch of about three hours, and yatayama food is food cooked more than a watch earlier, gone cold and lost its freshness. Shankara also gives the sense 'insufficiently cooked'.

Gatarasam: food whose juice, flavour and nourishing essence are gone. Puti: food that smells bad and has begun to rot. Paryushitam: food left overnight, stale. Uchchhishtam: the leftovers of someone else's meal (apart from food received as a blessing from a teacher or parents). Amedhyam: impure food, unfit to be offered to God; traditionally this includes meat, liquor and other forbidden substances.

All of these share one thing: they lack prana, life-force. Fresh food is full of vitality, whereas stale, rotten and impure food produces dullness. The tamasic person, already sunk in sloth and inertia, prefers such food, and the food in turn increases his tamas. It is a vicious circle.

There is also a practical message of hygiene and health. Stale and contaminated food causes disease. The cleanliness of the place where food is cooked and eaten, and an attitude of respect towards food, are also part of its quality. Cooking fresh, keeping things clean and first offering food to God are simple rules that keep us away from tamasic food.

Context

Verses 8 and 9 described sattvic and rajasic food; this verse describes tamasic food and completes the subject. The next three verses describe the three kinds of sacrifice.

Life lesson

Stale, rotten and impure food brings disease to the body and dullness to the mind. Cook fresh, keep things clean, and receive your food with respect and gratitude.

Key terms

Yatayama: Food cooked long ago, gone cold and stale
Paryushita: Left overnight, stale
Uchchhishta: Leftovers from another's meal
Amedhya: Impure, unfit for offering to God