आयुःसत्त्वबलारोग्यसुखप्रीतिविवर्धनाः ।
रस्याः स्निग्धाः स्थिरा हृद्या आहाराः सात्त्विकप्रियाः ॥ १७.८ ॥

āyu:sattvabalārogyasukhaprītivivardhanā: |
rasyā: snigdhā: sthirā hṛdyā āhārā: sāttvikapriyā: || 17.8 ||

Krishna now elaborates on the types of food preferred by people of various temperaments.

Foods relished by sāttvika people promote longer life, inner brilliance, bodily strength, health in general, happiness and contentment. They are delicious, soft, sustaining and hearty.

The moment the word ‘sāttvika’ is mentioned, many are apt to think of something hard, frugal, rare to attempt and far from nourishing. It is not so. Sāttvika food is the best form of food for the tongue and stomach as well as for providing nourishment and fervour.

See how Krishna describes it. Sāttvika food promotes long-life, intellectual vigour, physical and mental strength, well-being, contentment and joy. Even with lesser intake, sāttvika food provides adequate nourishment to preserve physical and mental health and strength. Can food provide inner, mental strength too? – one may wonder. Yes, it can.

Taste is an important factor in eating. Many are after taste and hence after many dishes and delicious delicacies. So far as sāttvika food is concerned, its qualities are the most pleasing and beneficial. Sweet, soft, sustaining, pleasing to the mind – thus goes the description by Krishna.

Rasyāḥ is the first word Krishna uses. It means delicious. What more do taste-mongers need? To cook tasty and Sāttvika food is an art, a unique excellence.

Digestion generally begins from the mouth. This will be possible only when the food is masticated well. Salivary glands will be stimulated only when the food is delicious. Sattva guṇa emphasizes this quality. Anyone would like, nay even prefer this strongly. The feeling that to be sāttvika is an exception, that it is very hard and troublesome, is not correct.

The next quality is that the food should be soft, easy to chew. Krishna also states that it is not so much the volume that matters as the quality. Nourishment each item provides should be substantial, so that the effect will endure for quite some time. Sāttvika food is quite sustaining. The food should be not only stimulating to the tongue, but also pleasing.

This means that sour or spicy condiments are to be used in such judiciously moderate proportions that the taste of each vegetable or cereal still remains pronounced. Condiments are but additives to the principal items. This makes cooking an art. Great attention is needed to cook well, deliciously, so that the food is conducive to proper digestion. In selecting the pulses and vegetables, cutting them to sizes, cleaning them well, boiling the items with regulated fire, attention counts most. The mind and attention of the cook can be discerned from the items he has prepared.

Further points Krishna brings forth are about the outcome of sāttvika food on the body, mind, intelligence, etc. Besides ensuring longevity, sāttvika food makes the intelligence sharp and subtle. It generates brilliance and strength to undertake sustained work. Comfort and contentment are the other qualities.

When the physical and mental qualities provided by sāttvika food are considered, it should become the first choice for any discreet seeker.