Shloka 10
Abhimanyu’s Assault on Bhīṣma’s Screen; Banner-Felling and Reinforcements (सौभद्र-भीष्म-समरः)
कड़वे, खट्टे, लवणयुक्त, बहुत गरम, तीखे, रूखे, दाह-कारक और दुःख, चिन्ता तथा रोगोंको उत्पन्न करनेवाले आहार अर्थात् भोजन करनेके पदार्थ* राजस पुरुषको प्रिय होते हैं ।। यातयामं* गतरसं5 पूति? पर्युषितं** च यत् । उच्छिष्टमपिः? चामेध्यं* 5 भोजनं तामसप्रियम्,जो भोजन अधपका, रसरहित, दुर्गन्धयुक्त, बासी और उच्छिष्ट है तथा जो अपवित्र भी है, वह भोजन तामस पुरुषको प्रिय होता है
yātayāmaṁ gatarasaṁ pūti paryuṣitaṁ ca yat | ucchiṣṭam api cāmedhyaṁ bhojanaṁ tāmasa-priyam ||
Arjuna said: Food that is stale, devoid of taste, foul-smelling, kept overnight, and also left-over and impure—such food is dear to a person dominated by tamas. In ethical terms, the verse links one’s habitual choices in diet with the quality of one’s mind: negligence, dullness, and impurity are reinforced by what is unwholesome and unclean.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that food choices reflect and reinforce mental qualities: stale, tasteless, foul, leftover, and impure food is associated with tamas—dullness, negligence, and obscuration of discernment—so ethical living includes mindful, pure nourishment.
Arjuna is speaking in a didactic passage that classifies human tendencies (gunas) through preferences and habits; here he identifies the kind of food preferred by those dominated by tamas.