Aharaniyama
Sri Desika, in his work Aharaniyama, quotes profusely from Smritis. This Tamil work was rendered into Sanskrit by his son Kumara Varada. This work is based on the Bhagavad Gita 17.11-12 the commentary thereon by Sri Ramanuja and portions of his Sribhasya. Desika explains that Sattvika food would purify the body and mind and enables one to practice yoga comfortably. One should avoid food on Ekadasi days. Given below are his instructions:
-Toddy and food prepared with onion, garlic, ganja, and so on.
-Food touched by crows, rats, pigs, cats, dogs, and the like
-Over fried food
-Food covered by cloth and hands
-Food contaminated by saliva, sneezing, etc
-Food that falls from the mouth while eating
-Food served by bare hands
-Food given by enemies
-Food prepared by Children (Which is lack of bhakti)
-Food acquired by undesirable means
-Food containing bits of hair, nails, thread, worms, insects and etc.
-food meant for a celibate and an ascetic
-White brinjal, palmyra fruit, etc
-Food originated from suspected unclean unhygienic places
-Spinach, drumsticks, etc
-Common millet, mushroom, etc
-Gooseberry and kadukkai on certain days
-Excessively savory, spicy, salty, and hot things
-Unseasonable foods
-Food from which essence is extracted, excepting buttermilk.
-Food containing sesame seeds to be avoided during nights
-Food mixed with gingelly oil and yogurt to be avoided at night.
-Food that is burnt
-Secretions of trees, except asafetida
General instructions:
-Food should not be taken during evenings and midnight or when there is no light.
-Food should not be taken during evenings and midnight or when there is no light.
-Avoid taking food under moonlight or by the side of the fire
-One should not take food untimely
-One should take betel leaves first and then nuts
-One should not consume water soon after taking betel leaves
-Lime prepared from burnt shells to be avoided
-Only Prasadam (food offered to the Lord) should be taken
-Food is not to be eaten with the left hand
-Sugar cane juice, yogurt, milk, ghee, betel nut, pepper, honey, cardamom, and etc should be used only in pure form but not in combination.
The Vishnu Purana gives the following instructions:
(Translation by Wilson)
“Let the householder, having bathed, and offered liberations on the Gods and manes, and decorated his hands with jewels, proceed to take his meal, after having repeated the introductory prayers and offered oblations to fire, and having given food to a guest, to Brahmans, to his elders, and to his family. He must not eat with a single garment on (i.e., one should have an upper garment also), nor with wet hands and feet, but dressed in clothes, perfumed, and wearing garlands of flowers; he must not eat with face turned to any intermediate point of the horizon, but fronting the east or the north; and thus, with a smiling countenance, happy and attentive, let him partake of food, of good quality., wholesome, boiled with clean water, procured from no vile person nor by improper means, not improperly cooked. Having given a portion to his hungry companions, let him take his food without reproach out of a clean handsome vessel, which must not be placed upon a low stool or bed. He must not eat in an unfit place or out of season, nor in an incommodious attitude, nor must he first cast any of his means into the fire.
Let his food be made holy with suitable prayers; let it be good of its kind; and it must not be stale, except in the case of fruit. Nor must it be dry vegetable substances, other than jujubes or preparations of molasses; but never must a man eat of that of which juices have been extracted. Nor must a man eat so as to leave no residue of his meal, except in the case of flour cakes, honey, water, yogurt, and butter. Let him with an attentive mind, the first taste which has a sweet flavor; he may take salt and sour things in the middle course, and finish with those which are pungent and butter. The man who commences his meals with fluids then partakes of solid food, and finishes with fluids again, will ever be strong and healthy. In this manner let him feed without faults, silent and contented without uttering a word. Having eaten sufficiently, the householder is then no rinsed his mouth, with his face turned towards east or north; and having again sipped water, he is to wash his hands from wrist downwards. With a pleased and tranquil spirit, he is then to take a seat, and call to his memory his tutelary deity”
“Let the householder, having bathed, and offered liberations on the Gods and manes, and decorated his hands with jewels, proceed to take his meal, after having repeated the introductory prayers and offered oblations to fire, and having given food to a guest, to Brahmans, to his elders, and to his family. He must not eat with a single garment on (i.e., one should have an upper garment also), nor with wet hands and feet, but dressed in clothes, perfumed, and wearing garlands of flowers; he must not eat with face turned to any intermediate point of the horizon, but fronting the east or the north; and thus, with a smiling countenance, happy and attentive, let him partake of food, of good quality., wholesome, boiled with clean water, procured from no vile person nor by improper means, not improperly cooked. Having given a portion to his hungry companions, let him take his food without reproach out of a clean handsome vessel, which must not be placed upon a low stool or bed. He must not eat in an unfit place or out of season, nor in an incommodious attitude, nor must he first cast any of his means into the fire.
Let his food be made holy with suitable prayers; let it be good of its kind; and it must not be stale, except in the case of fruit. Nor must it be dry vegetable substances, other than jujubes or preparations of molasses; but never must a man eat of that of which juices have been extracted. Nor must a man eat so as to leave no residue of his meal, except in the case of flour cakes, honey, water, yogurt, and butter. Let him with an attentive mind, the first taste which has a sweet flavor; he may take salt and sour things in the middle course, and finish with those which are pungent and butter. The man who commences his meals with fluids then partakes of solid food, and finishes with fluids again, will ever be strong and healthy. In this manner let him feed without faults, silent and contented without uttering a word. Having eaten sufficiently, the householder is then no rinsed his mouth, with his face turned towards east or north; and having again sipped water, he is to wash his hands from wrist downwards. With a pleased and tranquil spirit, he is then to take a seat, and call to his memory his tutelary deity”
THOSE THAT CAN BE TAKEN FREELY WITHOUT ANY RESTRICTIONS:
1. Sugarcane juice
2. Curds
3. Milk
4. Ghee
5. Sangam
6. Pepper
7. Honey
8. Cardamom
9. Ice
10. Betelnut
11. Anything fried in fire
12. Fruits that have ripened on their own
13. Boiled rice
14. Vadam
15. Appam | even if they are old provided they have not lost their taste
16. Seedai |
17. Chappathi |
18. Milk products
19. Thenkuzhal
20. Murukku
21. Medicines prescribed by doctors
22. Jaggery and flour combined edibles even if old
23. Wheat flour combined edibles
24. Side dishes, butter milk, ghee, milk, curds mixed with cooked rice
25. Cooked rice put in a vessel with clean water
26. Edibles prepared with curds, milk etc.
27. Juice of flowers, raw vegetables, fruits, Tender Coconut Water.
ITEMS TO BE AVOIDED WITH REFERENCE TO TASTE:
1. Food overheated so much as to make it inedible
2. Too much bitter
3. Too much salty
4. Too much hot (like chillies)
5. Too much sour
6. Those that are too hot (temperature)
7. Those that are repulsive
8. All liquids from which the cream has been the essence and has been removed (except buttermilk)
9. Old food that had become rotten
10. Food that smells like mud
ITEMS TO BE AVOIDED WITH REFERENCE TO TIME OF CONSUMPTION
1. Food cooked on Ekadasi and other days of fasting should not be consumed
2. Wood apple and puffed rice should not be taken during day time
3. Food mixed with sesame should not be taken at night (also referred in Srimad Ramayana)
4. Food prepared in gingerly oil at night
5. Food prepared with curds at night
6. No food can be taken at sunrise, sunset, and midnight (also referred to in Srimad Ramayana
7. Husband and wife should not eat together at the same time
CONDITIONS REGARDING INTAKE OF MILK.
1. Milk of animals like a mare, donkey, etc. which have single hoof (Vide also Srimad Ramayana)
2. Milk of cow that has given birth to twin calves
3. Camel's milk
4. Milk with which salt has got mixed up
5. Breast milk of women (this is also referred to in Srimad Ramayana)
6. Cow that is pregnant and cow just ready for sexual intercourse (referred in Srimad Ramayana )
7. The milk of a cow whose calf had just died
8. Milk drawn from a cow by showing to it a calf of another cow
9. Milk that had become sour or bad (also in Srimad Ramayana )
10. Milk of cows bearing names of deities other than those of Sriman Narayana
11. Milk of ewe (Vide also Srimad Ramayana)
12. Milk purchased from a Brahmin
13. Milk kept in a bronze vessel
14. Milk overheated to the point of getting charred
15. Milk and curd took of milk of a cow that has just delivered for at least 10 days after delivery
16. Milk of other animals of the bovine family except for the buffalo
RESTRICTIONS REGARDING USE OF WATER
1. Except Ganges water, no stored up water standing over a day should be used.
2. Water remaining in a vessel after using part of it for washing feet
3. Muddy water
4. Tender coconut water, if heated
5. Water stagnant in a small pool
6. Water running across a road
7. Water given in hotels and watersheds ( Tanner pandals)
8. Any water purity of which is in doubt
9. Water down from washerman's ghats
10. Water contaminated with spittle
11. Water held in a conch
12. Rainwater before it falls to the ground
13. One should not drink water by cupping both the palms (Vide Srimad Ramayana)
BETEL ITEMS TO BE AVOIDED
1. One should not munch betelnut before putting betel leaves in the mouth
2. The stem, the middle line and the tip of the leaves should be removed before taking betel thambool
3. One should not munch both betel leaves and betel nut together
4. Widows, Brahmacharis and Sannyasis should not use betel leaves
5. One should not take betel leaf on which lime had been kept
6. During Ekadasi and other days of fasting betel chewing should be scrupulously avoided
7. While chewing betel one should not drink water at the same time.
The above are from the article appeared in the Saranagadi Journal: Subhamasthu Sri Ramanuja : Opiliappan Koil Varadachari Sadagopan
Editor- in- Chief ,” Saranagathi” Journal
Items prohibited on hygienic and prophylactic grounds (like our not using toothbrushes used by others)
1. Spittle and food contaminated with spittle
2. Food contaminated by flies, worms, hair, fingernails etc.
3. Food contaminated by excreta
4. Food contaminated by cloth, thread, sneeze etc.
5. Food that has been `smelt' by anybody
6. Food `that has been tasted' by humans, rodent, crow, hen, cat, dog etc.
7. Food that has been partially `bitten' by others
8. Morsel of food partially remaining after eating a portion of it.
9. Vegetables cooked without first being washed
10. Fruits, vegetables etc. cut with fingernails
11. Food prepared by persons who are not clean
12. Food cooked in other people's homes (Parannam)
13. Food that has been found fault with
14. Foods that have been prohibited specifically
15. Food cooked along with prohibited items
16. Foods known to be harmful to vital air and the functioning of sense organs
ITEMS PROHIBITED ON `SOCIAL' GROUNDS
1. One should not take for self food intended for all
2. Food meant for others (especially a sick person)
3. Food kept apportioned for self and guests
4. Food remaining after feeding a woman in menstruation*
5. Food prepared specifically for a woman who has just delivered*
6. Food that has not been offered to `Bhagavan' in the first place (during Aradhana)*
7. Food before offering to guests (Atiti Satkara)
8. Food offered to lesser deities (Devatantara)
9. Food set apart for offering to such deities as per Sastric injunctions
10. Products (grains, pulses etc.) not offered to God after the harvest
11. Food offered by Sanyasis directly
12. Food taken out from the vessel of Sanyasis
13. Food offered without love and affection
14. Vegetables, fruits etc. cultivated in dirty places *
15. Those that are known to affect concentration and meditation
16. Those that have been specifically advised against by Acharyas and such others
17. Mixed food distributed by hand
18. Ghee should not be served after one commences eating
19. Foods cooked more than once (Punar Pakam)
20. Cooked food served with iron ladles or bare hands
21. Salt served directly by hand
22. Food should not be eaten using left hand
23. Food should not be eaten holding the plate by hand
24. Food should not be placed on a seat
25. Food should not be eaten keeping them on the lap (22 to 25 are precisely what we do during buffet)
26. Should not eat edibles sitting on the bed
27. Food should not be eaten without a lamp burning
28. Moonlight / Fire are no substitutes for a burning lamp
29. Lime used for making chunnam out of seashells
30. Bubbles and foam arising from liquids (as while drinking coke, pepsi, coffee etc)
31. No food can be taken without taking bath and washing hands and completing ablutions (Parishechanam)
32. Should not leave without completing the final Parishechanam
33. Should not eat out of a broken plate or other vessels that are not clean
Here are the prohibited items:
TAMIL NAME POPULAR AND/ OR BOTANICAL NAME
1. Athi Varieties - Ficus Racemosa
2. Perarku Bauhinia Racemosa
3. Irali Ficus Virens
4. Vellai Kathari White egg plant | white brinjals
5. Aal Banyan -
6. Arasu Peepal Ficus Religiosa
7. Ayil Chittagong wood Chickrasia
8. Aarai Masculia Quadrifoli a
9. Naruvili Cordia Obliqua/M onoria
10. Pungu Dalbergia
11. Thigaipoondu A plant that causes confusion in mind
12. Kurinji A shrub Maruthonr i Terminaw a
13. Tanri Bellenica
14. Kusumbai Carthamus Tinctoriu m
15. Velai Cleone Pentaphytt a
16. Sivappu/Nattu Murungai Drumstick - Hyperanth era Muringa
17. Sukam Sukampal
18. Tamarai Kizhangu Lotus bulb Nelumbo Nucifera
19. Ulli Garlic
20. Siriya Avarai Beans
21. Thummatti Callous Leaved Bryonia
22. Therar Kai Clearing nut Strychnoo Patatatura
23. Panai Palmyra palm
24. Nayuruvi Achyranth us Aspera
25. Kadambu Eugenica Racemosa
26. Naikkudai Mushroom
27. Suraikkai A variety of gourd
28. Peerkku Ridge gourd
29. Sanar Keerai Hemp
30. Siru Keerai Amaranth us Gangeticu s
31. Sivanda Agathi Cormilla Grandi Flora
32. Purasu Balia Frundosa
33. Pasala Portulaca Obracora
34. Vilvakkai Crataeva Religiosa
35. Madulankai Unripe Pomogranate
36. Varagu Paspalum Frumentac eum
37. Mullangi Radish Raphenus Sativus
38. Vengayam Onion Allium Cepa
39. Punnakku Oil cake
40. Pannai keerai ! celosia s.p. ! traceable |Yeast. Dried brew|
41. Noyyir keerai
42. Seenkadan
43. Oovaikkai
44. Rammananthal
45. Khadi
For a healthy life and to attain the ultimate and eternal bliss we should restrict the temptation of modern foods and go back to what our Grand Mothers advice and from the Hindu Sastras and epics. This is what Michael Pollan of the Guardian also advices-eat less, eat grass type of food, try not to eat alone, cook and pick from your own garden.
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