17.9
Chapter 17, Verse 9
कट्वम्ललवणात्युष्णतीक्ष्णरूक्षविदाहिनः। आहारा राजसस्येष्टा दुःखशोकामयप्रदाः৷৷
kaṭvamlalavaṇātyuṣṇatīkṣṇarūkṣavidāhinaḥ. āhārā rājasasyēṣṭā duḥkhaśōkāmayapradāḥ৷৷
Translation
Those in whom Passion is dominant like foods that are bitter, sour, salty, over-hot, pungent, dry and burning. These produce unhappiness, repentance and disease.
Translation — Purohit Swami
Commentary
कट्वम्ललवणात्युष्णतीक्ष्णरूक्षविदाहिनः those that are bitter, sour saline, excessively hot, pungent, dry and burning, आहाराः foods, राजसस्य of the Rajasic, इष्टाः are liked, दुःखशोकामयप्रदाः are productive of pain, grief and disease. Commentary: Excessively This alification should be taken to apply to each of the seven alities -- thus, excessively saline, and so on.Food of a passionate nature produces restlessness in the mind, evil thoughts, excitement, craving now for one thing and then for another, pain, trouble and disease. The Rajasic man always plans to prepare various kinds of preparations to satisfy his palate. He takes salt, chillies, mustard, cloves, condiments, pungent pickles, etc., in excess. Tears flow from his eyes and water dribbles from his nose and yet he will not leave the hot and pungent articles. The palate remains unsatisfied until the stomach is completely filled with pungent things, till the tongue is burnt with chillies. Ladysfinger, Puri, Kachori, pungent condiments, meat, fish, eggs, sweets, potato, fried bread, curd, brinjal, carrots, blackgram, onions, garlic, lemon, Masur, tea, coffee, betels, tobacco are Rajasic artciles of food.
Commentary — Swami Sivananda
Sanskrit and transliteration of the Bhagavad Gita. Corpus compiled from the vedabase and the IIT Kanpur Gita Supersite.