Shloka 8
Abhimanyu’s Assault on Bhīṣma’s Screen; Banner-Felling and Reinforcements (सौभद्र-भीष्म-समरः)
आयुःसत्त्वबलारोग्यसुखप्रीतिविवर्धना: । रस्या:5 स्निग्धा:: स्थिरा5 ह॒द्या“ं आहारा:5 सात्त्विकप्रिया:,आयु, बुद्धि, बल, आरोग्य, सुख और प्रीतिको बढ़ानेवाले* रसयुक्त, चिकने और स्थिर रहनेवाले तथा स्वभावसे ही मनको प्रिय--ऐसे आहार अर्थात् भोजन करनेके पदार्थ सात्त्विक पुरुषको प्रिय होते हैं
āyuḥ-sattva-balārogya-sukha-prīti-vivardhanāḥ | rasyāḥ snigdhāḥ sthirā hṛdyā āhārāḥ sāttvika-priyāḥ ||
Arjuna said: “Foods that increase longevity, clarity of mind, strength, health, happiness, and inner contentment—juicy and nourishing, unctuous, steady (wholesome and sustaining), and naturally pleasing to the heart—are dear to people established in sattva.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Diet influences character: foods that are nourishing, soothing, and steady support sattva—clarity, balance, and inner contentment—thereby aiding self-control and ethical action.
Within the Gītā discourse on the battlefield, Arjuna is presented as the interlocutor while the teaching classifies foods by the three guṇas; this verse defines which foods are preferred by sāttvika persons.