Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.26.42
कषायो मधुरस्तिक्त: कट्वम्ल इति नैकधा ।
भौतिकानां विकारेण रस एको विभिद्यते ॥ ४२ ॥
kaṣāyo madhuras tiktaḥ
[kashaayo madhuras tiktah]
kaṭv amla iti naikadhā
[katv amla iti naikadhaa]
bhautikānāṁ vikāreṇa
[bhautikaanaam vikaarena]
rasa eko vibhidyate
[rasa eko vibhidyate]
Word-for-word
kaṣāyaḥ
—
astringent
madhuraḥ
—
sweet
tiktaḥ
—
bitter
kaṭu
—
pungent
amlaḥ
—
sour
iti
—
thus
na-ekadhā
—
manifoldly
bhautikānām
—
of other substances
vikāreṇa
—
by transformation
rasaḥ
—
the subtle element taste
ekaḥ
—
originally one
vibhidyate
—
is divided.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
kaṣāyo madhuras tiktaḥ
kaṣāyaḥ
astringent
madhuraḥ
sweet
tiktaḥ
bitter
kaṭv amla iti naikadhā
kaṭu
pungent
amlaḥ
sour
iti
thus
na-ekadhā
manifoldly
bhautikānāṁ vikāreṇa
bhautikānām
of other substances
vikāreṇa
by transformation
rasa eko vibhidyate
rasaḥ
the subtle element taste
ekaḥ
originally one
vibhidyate
is divided.
Although originally one, taste becomes manifold as astringent, sweet, bitter, pungent, sour and salty due to contact with other substances.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
One taste divides into many by transformation in combined substances and becomes astringent, sweet, bitter, hot and sour.
The qualities of taste are described. Salty taste should be added to the list. Taste, which is actually only one, known as sweetness, by combination of material objects (bhautikānām) is divided into many.
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Taste, originally one, becomes astringent, sweet, bitter, pungent, sour, or salty by contact with other substances. What we experience as multiplicity emerges from contact, not from intrinsic difference. The unity behind variety is real.
Reflection Questions
- Where am I treating 'tastes' (preferences) as essential identities rather than as contact effects?
- What underlying unity beneath my preferences am I missing?
My note
Source: vedabase.io