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Four kinds of foodstuff - some are drunk, some are chewed, some are licked up, and some are sucked

Bhagavad-gita As It Is

BG Chapters 13 - 18

There are four kinds of foodstuff—some are drunk, some are chewed, some are licked up, and some are sucked.
BG 15.14, Translation and Purport:

I am the fire of digestion in the bodies of all living entities, and I join with the air of life, outgoing and incoming, to digest the four kinds of foodstuff.

According to Āyur-vedic śāstra, we understand that there is a fire in the stomach which digests all food sent there. When the fire is not blazing there is no hunger, and when the fire is in order we become hungry. Sometimes when the fire is not going nicely, treatment is required. In any case, this fire is representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vedic mantras (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 5.9.1) also confirm that the Supreme Lord or Brahman is situated in the form of fire within the stomach and is digesting all kinds of foodstuff (ayam agnir vaiśvānaro yo 'yam antaḥ puruṣe yenedam annaṁ pacyate). Therefore since He is helping the digestion of all kinds of foodstuff, the living entity is not independent in the eating process. Unless the Supreme Lord helps him in digesting, there is no possibility of eating. He thus produces and digests foodstuff, and by His grace we are enjoying life. In the Vedānta-sūtra (1.2.27) this is also confirmed. Śabdādibhyo 'ntaḥ pratiṣṭhānāc ca: the Lord is situated within sound and within the body, within the air and even within the stomach as the digestive force. There are four kinds of foodstuff—some are drunk, some are chewed, some are licked up, and some are sucked—and He is the digestive force for all of them.

Lectures

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

There are four kinds of foodstuff: something we chew, something we swallow, something we lick up, and something we drink.
Lecture on SB 6.1.26 -- Chicago, July 11, 1975:

Prabhupāda: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya (repeats twice with devotees responding).

bhuñjānaḥ prapiban khādan
bālakaṁ sneha-yantritaḥ
bhojayan pāyayan mūḍho
na vedāgatam antakam
(SB 6.1.26)

Bhuñjāna, by raising him very affectionately, by giving him all necessities of life, bhuñjānaḥ prapiban, all kinds of drinks, milk, fruit juice, khādan, solid food... There are four kinds of foodstuff: something we chew, something we swallow, something we lick up, and something we drink. So everything was being supplied, bālakam, to that small boy.

There are four kinds of eatables. Sometimes we chew, sometimes we lick up, sometimes we swallow, and sometimes we drink. So there are four kinds of foodstuff.
Lecture on SB 6.1.26 -- Honolulu, May 26, 1976:

Prabhupāda: So, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Sixth Canto, First Chapter, text number twenty-six. (chants verse responsively with devotees)

bhuñjānaḥ prapiban khādan
bālakaṁ sneha-yantritaḥ
bhojayan pāyayan mūḍho
na vedāgatam antakam
(SB 6.1.26)

So this is the general way of life. Everyone is engaged in these material activities, and the basic principle of material activity is gṛhastha, family life. Family life, according to Vedic system, or anywhere, is responsible life to maintain the wife, children. Everyone is engaged. They think this is the only duty. "To maintain the family, that is my duty. As comfortably as possible. That is my duty." One does not think that this kind of duty is performed even by animals. They have got also children, and they feed. What is the difference? Therefore here the word used is mūḍha. Mūḍha means ass. One who is engaged in such duties, bhuñjānaḥ prapiban khādan. Prapiban. Prapiban means drinking, and bhuñjānaḥ means eating. While eating, while drinking, khādan, while chewing, carva casya raja preya (?). There are four kinds of eatables. Sometimes we chew, sometimes we lick up, (Sanskrit) sometimes we swallow, and sometimes we drink. So there are four kinds of foodstuff. Therefore we sing catuḥ vidhā śrī-bhagavat-prasādāt. Catuḥ vidhā means four kinds. So we offer to the Deities so many foodstuffs within these four categories. Something is chewed, something is licked up, something is swallowed. In that way.

Page Title:Four kinds of foodstuff - some are drunk, some are chewed, some are licked up, and some are sucked
Compiler:Sahadeva
Created:21 of Sep, 2009
Totals by Section:BG=1, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=2, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:3