Verse 17.10

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 17.10:

यातयामं गत-रसं पूति पर्युषितं च यत् ।
उच्छिष्टम् अपि चामेध्यं भोजनं तामस-प्रियम् ॥ १० ॥

yātayāmaṃ gata-rasaṃ pūti paryuṣitaṃ ca yat |
ucchiṣṭam api cāmedhyaṃ bhojanaṃ tāmasa-priyam || 10 ||

yāta-yāmam–food which has been cooked and then become cold; gata-rasam–tasteless; pūti–bad smelling; paryuṣitam–putrid; ca–and; yat–which; ucchiṣṭam–food already eaten by others; api ca–and also; amedhyam–impure; bhojanam–food; tāmasa-priyam–dear to those in the quality of darkness.

People influenced by the mode of ignorance are pleased by food cooked more than three hours before being eaten, by food that has become cold, foul smelling, tasteless, putrid and stale, and by food that has been partly eaten by others and impure.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

The word yāta-yāmam means food that has been cooked three hours prior to being eaten and that has become cold. Gata-rasam means ‘that which has lost its natural taste’, or ‘that from which the juice has been extracted’, like the peel or pit of a cooked mango. Pūti means ‘foul smelling’. Paryuṣitam means ‘cooked the previous day’. Ucchiṣṭam means ‘someone’s remnants’. This does not refer to the remnants of highly respected persons such as revered spiritual masters. Amedhya means ‘that which is not fit to be consumed’, like meat or tobacco. Therefore, those who are concerned about their own welfare should eat only sāttvika food. Vaiṣṇavas, however, should not even accept sāttvika food if it is not offered to Bhagavān. It is understood from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that food offered to Bhagavān is nirguṇa, transcendental to the modes of nature. This food alone is dear to the devotees.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

(By Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja; the explanation that illuminates the commentary named Sārārtha-varṣiṇī)

The purpose of food is to keep the body healthy and strong, make the mind pure, increase the life span and engage a person in his spiritual welfare. In ancient times, those who were learned and wise would only accept food that kept them healthy and increased their life span. Milk, yogurt, natural sugar, rice, wheat, fruit and vegetables are dear to sāttvika people.

Many people think that there is no harm in eating foods such as meat and wine that they have offered in their worship of the demigods. Although scripture makes provision for such acts, these thoughts are in complete illusion. The provision in scripture for both killing animals and drinking wine in a sacrifice is only for those deeply sunk in the mode of ignorance and who are completely attached to sense indulgence. It is a temporary provision so as to expertly bring them to abstention from such acts.

This is also confirmed in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.11):

loke vyavāyāmiṣa-madya-sevā nityā hi jantor na hi tatra codanā
vyavasthitis teṣu vivāha-yajña surā-grahair āsu nivṛttir iṣṭā

It is seen that people in the material world are naturally inclined to drinking wine, eating meat and having sex. Scripture never encourages this. To some extent, provision has been granted for sex-life within a sanctified marriage, and for eating meat and drinking wine in a sacrifice called śautrāmaṇi. The purpose of these provi-sions is to control one’s unrestrained nature and fix it within moral boundaries. The actual, deep import of the Vedas is to encourage people to become completely renounced.

Furthermore, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.13) says:

yad ghrāṇa-bhakṣo vihitaḥ surāyās
tathā paśor ālabhanaṃ na hiṃsā

Scripture ordains the smelling of wine at the time of a sacrifice but not the drinking of it, and only for the above-mentioned purpose of gradually attaining complete renunciation. In the same way, scripture does not authorize anyone to kill an animal and eat meat. It permits one to touch the animal only and then release it.

Some people think that although it is sinful to eat meat, no sin is incurred in eating fish because fish are like the flowers or fruits of the water.

However, Manu-saṃhitā completely forbids the eating of fish:

yo yasya māṃsam aśnāti sa tan-māṃsād ucyate
matsyādaḥ sarva-māṃsādas tasmān matsyān vivarjayet

Those who eat the meat of a particular animal are known as eaters of that particular animal, but those who eat fish eat the meat of everything, because a fish eats the meat of all living entities such as cows and pigs. It even consumes rotten things. Those who eat fish actually eat the meat of all beings.

Eating fish should, therefore, be abandoned entirely.

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.14) further states:

ye tv anevaṃ-vido’santaḥ stabdhāḥ sad-abhimāninaḥ
paśūn druhyanti visrabdhāḥ pretya khādanti te ca tān

Those who are ignorant of religious principles, short sighted, intoxicated by false ego and who fearlessly eat animals after killing them will be eaten by those same animals in their next life.

Regarding the meaning of the word māṃsa (meat), Manu-saṃhitā says:

māṃ sa bhakṣayitāmutra yasya māṃsam ihādmy aham
etan māṃsasya māṃsatvaṃ pravadanti manīṣiṇaḥ

‘That which I am eating here will eat me in my next life.’ For this reason, the learned say that meat is called māṃsa (a repeated act: I eat him; he eats me).

Here it should also be understood that eating food in the mode of goodness enhances one’s quality of goodness, but even consuming such food is not completely free from sin, because there is also life in creepers, vegetables, plants and trees. A touch of sin therefore remains in the preparation of vegetarian food because, to some degree, it involves violence. For this reason, pure devotees only accept mahā-prasāda, food that has been offered to Bhagavān. Only mahā-prasāda is fit to be eaten because it is transcendental to the modes of nature and completely free from sin. Food that has not been offered should be shunned totally. This is also written in the Brahma-vaivarta and in the Padma Purāṇa: “annaṃ viṣtḥā jalaṃ mūtraṃ yad viṣṇor anivedanam–taking food and water that is not offered to Śrī Viṣṇu is compared to eating stool and drinking urine.”