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:
āyuḥ-sattva-balārogya-sukha-prīti-vivardhanāḥ | rasyāḥ snigdhāḥ sthirā hṛdyā āhārāḥ sāttvika-priyāḥ ||
आयुःसत्त्वबलारोग्यसुखप्रीतिविवर्धनाः। रस्याः स्निग्धाः स्थिरा हृद्या आहाराः सात्त्विकप्रियाः॥
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.