Sanskrit
आयुःसत्त्वबलारोग्यसुखप्रीतिविवर्धनाः । रस्याः स्निग्धाः स्थिरा हृद्या आहाराः सात्त्विकप्रियाः ॥
āyuḥsattvabalārogyasukhaprītivivardhanāḥ rasyāḥ snigdhāḥ sthirā hṛdyā āhārāḥ sāttvikapriyāḥ
Translation
The foods that augment vitality, energy, vigour, health, joy and cheerfulness, delicious, bland, substantial and agreeable, are dear to the pure.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
There’s a small wordplay worth noticing here that the English can’t quite preserve: the compound listing what sattvic food increases includes “sattva” itself in the sense of vital force or constitution, distinct from but clearly echoing the guna name — the text is having it both ways, describing food that builds bodily sattva and belongs to the sattva disposition. The list otherwise reads as a fairly ordinary ancient dietetic ideal: food valued for nourishment and steadiness rather than intensity. Sāttvic food is defined by its effect — life, health, cheer — and its qualities are mild: snigdha (unctuous), sthira (settling), hṛdya (pleasant). Notably the criterion is not ritual purity but whether the food sustains rather than agitates or dulls.
Study deeper
Word by word
- āyuḥsattvabalārogyasukhaprītivivardhanāḥआयुःसत्त्वबलारोग्यसुखप्रीतिविवर्धनाः
- increasing life, vigour, strength, health, joy, and cheer (āyuḥ-sattva-bala-ārogya-sukha-prīti-vivardhanāḥ)
- rasyāḥ snigdhāḥ sthirā hṛdyāरस्याः स्निग्धाः स्थिरा हृद्या
- savoury, smooth, sustaining, agreeable (rasyāḥ + snigdhāḥ + sthirāḥ + hṛdyāḥ)
- āhārāḥ sāttvikapriyāḥआहाराः सात्त्विकप्रियाः
- such foods are dear to the sāttvic (āhārāḥ + sāttvika-priyāḥ)
Commentary
Site Commentary
Notice what this definition doesn’t do: it never lists forbidden or approved dishes. Sattvic food is defined entirely by function and effect — what it does to vitality, mood, and steadiness — not by a checklist of ingredients. For a topic religious traditions usually regulate by explicit rule, the Gita opts for a principle you have to apply yourself rather than a list you just follow.
Original commentary written for this site · © Amit Singh — original commentary
Concepts
Apply this verse
Lessons
Personal
- When deciding what habits or inputs serve you well, judge by effect — does this leave me steadier, clearer, more capable — rather than reaching for someone else's approved list. A functional test travels better across changing circumstances than a fixed rule does.
Professional
- When defining what counts as good output for your team, resist writing an exhaustive checklist of allowed formats or tools — define it by the effect you actually want, reliability, clarity, maintainability, and let people apply that judgment themselves.
Family & Social
- Instead of handing your kids a fixed list of allowed and forbidden things, try teaching the underlying test — does this leave you steadier or more scattered — so the judgment travels with them into situations you didn't anticipate.
Ask yourself
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