Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17 Verse 10 Meaning
That which is stale, tasteless, putrid, rotten, rejected, and impure is the food liked by the Tamasic.
BG 17.10
यातयामं गतरसं पूति पर्युषितं च यत्।उच्छिष्टमपि चामेध्यं भोजनं तामसप्रियम्
yāta-yāmaṁ gata-rasaṁ pūti paryuṣhitaṁ cha yat uchchhiṣhṭam api chāmedhyaṁ bhojanaṁ tāmasa-priyam
Meaning
That which is stale, tasteless, putrid, rotten, rejected, and impure is the food liked by the Tamasic.
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What Does Bhagavad Gita 17.10 Mean?
This verse carries the weight of lived truth. That which is stale, tasteless, putrid, rotten, rejected, and impure is the food liked by the Tamasic. In the context of how the three gunas shape faith, diet, worship, and charity, these words illuminate the principle of the three types from a perspective that complements the surrounding verses. Shankaracharya emphasizes that this teaching is not merely contextual but universal.
The principle of the three types expressed here transcends its battlefield setting and speaks to the fundamental relationship between action, knowledge, and spiritual realization. What makes this teaching enduringly relevant is its refusal to separate the spiritual from the ordinary. The very situations that challenge us become the ground of practice when approached with the understanding this verse provides.
— Explained by the Nitya Team
What Is the Context of Bhagavad Gita 17.10?
How faith manifests according to the three modes of nature.
Key themes in this chapter include Faith, Food, Sacrifice, Charity.
How Can I Apply Bhagavad Gita 17.10 in Daily Life?
- •When you need steadiness while dealing with faith
- •When practicing food amid uncertainty
- •When applying sacrifice to real-life choices
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Related Verses
BG 17.3
The faith of each is in accordance with their nature, O Arjuna. People consist of their faith; as a person's faith is, so are they.
BG 17.20
That gift which is given to one who does nothing in return, knowing it to be a duty to give in a suitable place and time to a worthy person, is held to be Sattvic.
BG 1.1
Dhritarashtra said, "What did my people and the sons of Pandu do when they had assembled together, eager for battle, on the holy plain of Kurukshetra, O Sanjaya?"
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