Bhagavad Gītā · Chapter 17, Verse 9
कट्वम्ललवणात्युष्णतीक्ष्णरूक्षविदाहिनः।आहारा राजसस्येष्टा दुःखशोकामयप्रदाः।।
kaṭv-amla-lavaṇāty-uṣṇa- tīkṣṇa-rūkṣa-vidāhinaḥ
āhārā rājasasyeṣṭā duḥkha-śokāmaya-pradāḥ
also searched as "katvamlalavanatyushna tikshna ruksha vidahinah"
Translation
Foods that are bitter, sour, very salty, excessively heating, highly pungent, dry, and burning are all dear to Rajasika men; they cause pain, sorrow, and disease.
Vāṇi's rendering
The restless crave the bitter, sour, salty, scalding, harsh, dry, and burning — foods that bring pain, grief, and sickness.
Word by word
| Sanskrit & transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कटुkaṭu | bitter (appears as kaṭv- before the next word) |
| अम्लamla | sour |
| लवणlavaṇa | salty |
| अतिati | excessively — attaches to each item in the list (joined as -āty- before uṣṇa) |
| उष्णuṣṇa | hot, scalding |
| तीक्ष्णtīkṣṇa | sharp, biting on the tongue |
| रूक्षrūkṣa | dry, coarse, without moisture |
| विदाहिनःvidāhinaḥ | burning, that scorch the body from within |
| आहाराःāhārāḥ | foods |
| राजसस्यrājasasya | of the restless one, the person driven by rajas |
| इष्टाःiṣṭāḥ | craved, dear (sandhi: rājasasya + iṣṭāḥ) |
| दुःखduḥkha | pain |
| शोकśoka | grief |
| आमयāmaya | disease |
| प्रदाःpradāḥ | bringing, producing |
Frequently asked
What does Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17 Verse 9 mean?
It names the food a restless mind reaches for — sharp, sour, scalding, burning — and names its price: pain, grief, sickness. Krishna is not writing a diet chart. He is showing that rajas seeks intensity rather than nourishment, and that what agitates the tongue eventually settles in the body.
What does katvamlalavanatyushna tikshna ruksha vidahinah teach about eating?
That the craving matters more than the item. Every quality listed is an extreme, and ati — excessively — colours all of them. A little sharpness is food; a hunger for sharpness is restlessness eating. Watch the reaching, not only the plate.
Does the Gita forbid spicy or sour food?
No. Krishna describes tendencies, not prohibitions. Bitter and sour have their place in any real kitchen. What he marks is the appetite for extremity — food chosen to jolt rather than to sustain — and he tells you honestly where that appetite ends.
Why does Krishna connect food with grief?
Because śoka is not only an emotion; it is a state the body can be fed into. What burns and dries leaves the system inflamed, and an inflamed system grieves easily. Krishna links plate to mood without apology. Steady eating is one quiet support for a steady mind.
Themes in this verse
Read every verse this way, held — inside Vāṇi.
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Commentary
Notice what the list has in common: not flavour, but force. Bitter, scalding, sharp, burning — every item is an intensity. The restless tongue does not want food, it wants sensation strong enough to be felt over the noise inside. Krishna is not banning spice. He is showing you the sequence: agitation reaches for what agitates, and the agitation grows. The bill comes later — pain, then grief, then sickness. This is why the Gītā treats the plate as a teaching. Before you ask what you are eating, ask what you were feeling when you reached for it.