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Bhagavad-gītā 17.9

कट्‌वम्ललवणात्युष्णतीक्ष्णरूक्षविदाहिन: । आहारा राजसस्येष्टा दु:खशोकामयप्रदा: ॥ ९ ॥
kaṭv-amla-lavaṇāty-uṣṇa-
[katv-amla-lavanaaty-ushna-]
tīkṣṇa-rūkṣa-vidāhinaḥ
[teekshna-rooksha-vidaahinah]
āhārā rājasasyeṣṭā
[aahaaraa raajasasyeshtaa]
duḥkha-śokāmaya-pradāḥ
[duhkha-shokaamaya-pradaah]
Word-for-word
kaṭu — bitter amla — sour lavaṇa — salty ati - uṣṇa — very hot tīkṣṇa — pungent rūkṣa — dry vidāhinaḥ — burning āhārāḥ — food rājasasya — to one in the mode of passion iṣṭāḥ — palatable duḥkha — distress śoka — misery āmaya — disease pradāḥ — causing .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
kaṭv-amla-lavaṇāty-uṣṇa-
kaṭu
bitter
amla
sour
lavaṇa
salty
ati - uṣṇa
very hot
tīkṣṇa-rūkṣa-vidāhinaḥ
tīkṣṇa
pungent
rūkṣa
dry
vidāhinaḥ
burning
āhārā rājasasyeṣṭā
āhārāḥ
food
rājasasya
to one in the mode of passion
iṣṭāḥ
palatable
duḥkha-śokāmaya-pradāḥ
duḥkha
distress
śoka
misery
āmaya
disease
pradāḥ
causing .
Important Words
  • kaṭu — bitter
    The first of the three sharp tastes Kṛṣṇa lists. Note the bare adjective with no qualifier: each taste in moderation is dharmic, but the bare unqualified form implies excess. The vice of rajas is rarely the wrong ingredient — it is the excess of an acceptable one.
  • ati - uṣṇa — very hot
    Ati (excess) + uṣṇa (hot). The ati is the operative word in the entire list: heat is not the problem; *excess* of heat is. The same prefix could be implied across every adjective in the verse. Rajas is the mode of more.
  • tīkṣṇa — pungent
    From √tij — to be sharp, to pierce. The food that pierces the tongue with its sharpness. Note the metaphorical reach: tīkṣṇa is used elsewhere for harsh speech and aggressive temperament. The food and the mood share the word.
  • rūkṣa — dry
    The opposite of snigdha in the previous verse. Sattvic food is wet with rasa; rajasic food is parched. Dryness here is more than texture — it is the absence of affectionate moisture.
  • āmaya — disease
    From ā + √mī — that which afflicts thoroughly. The final word of the verse's triple verdict on rajasic food (duḥkha, śoka, āmaya): not poetic but clinical. Duḥkha is immediate distress, śoka lingering grief, and āmaya the settled disease that completes the descent. Three durations of one wrong choice.
Foods that are too bitter, too sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry and burning are dear to those in the mode of passion. Such foods cause distress, misery and disease.
Classical Sanskrit analysis शास्त्रीय विश्लेषण
How Sanskrit scholars read this verse — split, rearranged, grammar-tagged. For the plain English distilled meaning, jump to Plain meaning below.
Auto-generated study layers — original analysis of the public-domain śloka. Review against a published edition for academic work.
Plain meaning (तात्पर्य · Tātparya)
Rājasika food excites the palate but ravages the body and mind. Seven sensory qualities of intense stimulation are listed, plus three negative outcomes: pain, grief, disease. The pattern is one of short-term thrill purchased at long-term cost — a signature of rajas across every domain.
Further notes (विवरण · Vivaraṇa)
The contrast with 17.8 is calibrated word-for-word: rasya (juicy) vs. tīkṣṇa (sharp), snigdha (oily) vs. rūkṣa (dry), āyur-vivardhana (lifespan-increasing) vs. āmaya-prada (disease-yielding). Note vidāhin — that which 'burns afterwards' in the gut — is recognizable in Āyurveda as pitta-aggravating food. The verse reads as a clinical Āyurvedic diagnosis recast in the vocabulary of the three guṇas.
Prose order (अन्वय · Anvaya)
कटु-अम्ल-लवण-अति-उष्ण-तीक्ष्ण-रूक्ष-विदाहिनः दुःख-शोक-आमय-प्रदाः आहाराः राजसस्य इष्टाः (भवन्ति) ।
kaṭu-amla-lavaṇa-ati-uṣṇa-tīkṣṇa-rūkṣa-vidāhinaḥ duḥkha-śoka-āmaya-pradāḥ āhārāḥ rājasasya iṣṭāḥ (bhavanti) |
Foods that are pungent, sour, salty, very hot, sharp, dry, and burning — and that produce pain, sorrow, and disease — are desired by one in the mode of passion.
Word split (पदच्छेद · Padaccheda)
कटु-अम्ल-लवण-अति-उष्ण-तीक्ष्ण-रूक्ष-विदाहिनः । आहाराः राजसस्य इष्टाः दुःख-शोक-आमय-प्रदाः ॥
kaṭu-amla-lavaṇa-ati-uṣṇa-tīkṣṇa-rūkṣa-vidāhinaḥ | āhārāḥ rājasasya iṣṭāḥ duḥkha-śoka-āmaya-pradāḥ ||
Grammar (व्याकरण · Vyākaraṇa)
SanskritIASTGrammarMeaning
कटु-अम्ल-लवण-अति-उष्ण-तीक्ष्ण-रूक्ष-विदाहिनः kaṭu-amla-lavaṇa-ati-uṣṇa-tīkṣṇa-rūkṣa-vidāhinaḥ dvandva of seven adjectives + विदाहिन् nom.pl. (nominative plural)m. pungent, sour, salty, scorching-hot, sharp, dry, burning
आहाराः āhārāḥ आहार (m.) nom.pl. (nominative plural) foods
राजसस्य rājasasya राजस (adj.) gen.sg. (genitive singular)m. of one in the mode of passion
इष्टाः iṣṭāḥ √इष् p.p.p. (past passive participle) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m. desired, sought after
दुःख-शोक-आमय-प्रदाः duḥkha-śoka-āmaya-pradāḥ दुःख + शोक + आमय + प्रद (adj.) nom.pl. (nominative plural)m., tatpuruṣa cpd. (compound) yielding pain, grief, and disease
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
9. Foods that are excessively bitter, sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry and burning, and which produce pain while eating, sorrow afterwards and finally disease, are dear to the rajasic person.
Commentary

In this list the adjective “extremely” should be added to each quality. Very bitter food (kaṭu) means such food as nīma. Very sour, very salty and very hot foods are well known. Very sharp foods (tīkṣṇa) are turmeric root and other items, or pepper. Very drying foods (rūkṣa) are hing and kodrava. Burning foods (vidāhinaḥ) are those that cause internal heat, such as burned chick peas. These cause suffering (duḥkha), lamentation (śoka), and disease (āmayam). The word “suffering” here refers to suffering when eating, causing pain to the tongue, throat or other organ. “Lamentation” means afterward, in the future, those foods cause despair. Āmaya means disease.

Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa Gauḍīya
Translation
9. Foods that are excessively bitter, sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry and burning, and which produce pain while eating, sorrow afterwards and finally disease, are dear to the rajasic person.
Commentary

This verse describes foods in the mode of passion. To the seven adjectives, the word “very” should be added. Foods which are very bitter (kaṭu) include nīma, but not pepper and such. Pepper is an example of pungent food. Very sour, very salty and very hot foods are in the mode of passion. Very pungent foods (tīkṣṇa), such as pepper and very dry foods (ṛūkṣa), such as kaṅgu and very burning foods (vidāhinaḥ), such as rājikā, are in the mode of passion. These are attractive to the person in the mode of passion (rājasasya iṣṭāḥ), but disgusting to the persons in the mode of goodness. They give immediate suffering (duḥkha), such as drying of the tongue or throat. They give despair (śoka), and later, disease, disorder of the blood (āmayam).

Study Notes — Gauranga Priya Dāsa
Gauranga Priya Dāsa Study
Bhakti-śāstrī Notes, ISKCON Chowpatty (2009)
Theme

Foods in the mode of passion – Too bitter, too sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry and burning

Result (This is explained based on Srila Vishvanatha Chakravarti Thakura’s purport mentioned in ‘Surrender unto Me’)
Distress – Refers to pain felt while eating such foods
Misery – Depression one feels after such eating
Disease – Results yet to be felt
Classical Ācāryas
Śrī Śaṅkarācārya Classical
Translation
17.9 Foods that are katu-amla-lavana-atyusna-tiksna-ruksa-vidahinah, bitter, sour, salty, very hot (-'very' is to be connected with all, viz bitter etc.; that is very bitter, very sour, and so on-), pungent, dry [Without fat.] and burning; and duhkha-soka-amaya-pradah, which produce pain, sorrow and disease; [Pain, immediate suffering; sorrow, grief arising from not having that desired food.] are rajasasyaistah, dear to one having rajas.
Śrī Rāmānujācārya Classical
Translation
17.9 The foods that are bitter, sour, very salty, over-hot, very pungent, dry and burning, are those that they the taste (Rasa) of bitterness and sourness, that are inordinately salty, hot, pungent, and that are dry and burning. Pungent foods are those which are unsuitable and difficult to be taken by others because of their being ver cold, ver hot etc. Dry things are those which cause the feeling of dryness in the eater. Burning foods are those which cause burning sensation. Foods of this kind are relished by men of Rajasik nature. They promote pain, sorrow and disease.
Śrī Abhinavagupta Classical
Translation
17.9 See Comment under 17.10
Swami Sivananda Classical
Translation
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.
Commentary

17.9 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.

Swami Gambhīrānanda Classical
Translation
17.9 Foods that are bitter, sour, salty, very hot, pungent, dry and burning, and which production pain, sorrow and disease, are dear to one having rajas.
Shri Purohit Swami Classical
Translation
17.9 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.
Related values & verses
Related verses
BG 17.7 BG 14.7 BG 6.16 SB 11.13.2 SB 11.13.5 SB 1.17.38 CC Madhya 22.117 CC Antya 6.236 CC Madhya 23.105 Maitrāyaṇī Upaniṣad 6.30BRS 1.2.256
Study Q&A referencing this verse
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Foods dear to rajas — too bitter, sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry, burning — cause distress, misery, disease.
Practical Applications
  • Notice over-stimulating foods and reduce them.
  • Track agitation in mood post-meal.
  • Reduce caffeine, excessive spice, etc.
Reflection Questions
  • What rajasic foods most agitate me?
  • What reduction would I notice in mood?
Analogy

Rajasic food is like a torch held too close to the face — bright, hot, exciting, and slightly burning. It thrills going in and disturbs going through; the body grows quicker but the mind grows louder. What stimulates is rarely what nourishes.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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