Spinach

Expressions researched:
"spinach" |"spinage"

SB Canto 10.1 to 10.13

SB 10.8.36, Purport:

Without disturbing the ecstasy of His mother's affection, Kṛṣṇa opened His mouth and displayed His own natural opulences. When a person is given varieties of food, there may be a hundred and one varieties, but if one likes ordinary śāka, spinach, he prefers to eat that. Similarly, although Kṛṣṇa was full of opulences, now, by the order of Mother Yaśodā, He opened wide His mouth like a human child and did not neglect the transcendental humor of maternal affection.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 3.39, Translation:

Advaita Prabhu continued, "At My home I have just cooked one palmful of rice. The vegetables are always very simple. There is no luxurious cooking—simply a little liquid vegetable and spinach."

CC Madhya 3.45, Translation:

Among the cooked vegetables were paṭolas, squash, mānakacu and a salad made with pieces of ginger and various types of spinach.

CC Madhya 4.70, Translation:

The vegetable preparations were made from various kinds of spinach, roots and fruits collected from the forest, and someone made baḍā and baḍi by mashing dhal. In this way the brāhmaṇas prepared all kinds of food.

CC Madhya 4.169, Purport:

Cāturmāsya should be observed by all sections of the population. It does not matter whether one is a gṛhastha or a sannyāsī. The observance is obligatory for all āśramas. The real purpose behind the vow taken during these four months is to minimize the quantity of sense gratification. This is not very difficult. In the month of Śrāvaṇa one should not eat spinach, in the month of Bhādra one should not eat yogurt, and in the month of Āśvina one should not drink milk. One should not eat fish or other nonvegetarian food during the month of Kārttika. A nonvegetarian diet means fish and meat. Similarly, masūra dhal and urad dhal are also considered nonvegetarian. These two dhals contain a great amount of protein, and food rich in protein is considered nonvegetarian. On the whole, during the four-month period of Cāturmāsya one should practice giving up all food intended for sense enjoyment.

CC Madhya 15.54-55, Translation:

“One day My mother, Śacī, offered food to Śālagrāma Viṣṇu. She offered rice cooked from śāli paddies, various kinds of vegetables, spinach, curry made of banana flowers, fried paṭola with nimba leaves, pieces of ginger with lemon, and also yogurt, milk, sugar candy and many other foods.

CC Madhya 15.88, Translation:

“Thus with great care and attention Rāghava Paṇḍita prepares spinach, other vegetables, radishes, fruits, chipped rice, powdered rice and sweetmeats.

CC Madhya 15.202, Translation:

At Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya's house, there was always a full stock of food. Whatever spinach, vegetables, fruit and so on were required, he collected and brought back home.

CC Madhya 15.210, Translation:

There were about ten kinds of spinach, a soup called sukhta, which was made with bitter nimba leaves, a pungent preparation made with black pepper, a mild cake made of fried curd, and buttermilk mixed with small fried pieces of dhal.

CC Madhya 17 Summary:

North of Kaṭaka, He penetrated a dense forest and came upon many tigers and elephants, whom He engaged in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. Whenever the Lord had a chance to visit a village, Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya would beg alms and acquire some rice and vegetables. If there were no village, Balabhadra would cook whatever rice remained and collect some spinach from the forest for the Lord to eat. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very pleased with the behavior of Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya.

In this way the Lord passed through the jungle of Jhārikhaṇḍa and finally reached Vārāṇasī. After taking His bath at the Maṇikarṇikā-ghāṭa at Vārāṇasī, He met Tapana Miśra, who took the Lord to his place and respectfully gave Him a comfortable residence. At Vārāṇasī, Vaidya Candraśekhara, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's old friend, also rendered service unto Him. Seeing the behavior of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, a Maharashtriyan brāhmaṇa informed Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, the leader of the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs.

CC Madhya 17.57, Translation:

Along the way, Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya collected all kinds of spinach, roots and fruit whenever possible.

CC Madhya 17.62-63, Translation:

Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya used to keep a stock of food grain that would last from two to four days. Where there were no people, he would cook the grain and prepare vegetables, spinach, roots and fruits collected from the forest.

CC Antya-lila

CC Antya 10.135-136, Translation:

They offered pungent preparations made with black pepper, sweet-and-sour preparations, ginger, salty preparations, limes, milk, yogurt, sugar candy, two or four kinds of spinach, soup made with bitter melon, eggplant mixed with nimba flowers, and fried paṭola.

Nectar of Instruction

Nectar of Instruction 1, Purport:

There are six kinds of rasas (tastes), and if one is agitated by any one of them, he becomes controlled by the urges of the tongue. Some persons are attracted to the eating of meat, fish, crabs, eggs and other things produced by semina and blood and eaten in the form of dead bodies. Others are attracted by eating vegetables, creepers, spinach or milk products, but all for the satisfaction of the tongue's demands. Such eating for sense gratification—including the use of extra quantities of spices like chili and tamarind—is to be given up by Kṛṣṇa conscious persons. The use of pan, haritakī, betel nuts, various spices used in pan-making, tobacco, LSD, marijuana, opium, liquor, coffee and tea is indulged in to fulfill illicit demands. If we can practice accepting only remnants of food offered to Kṛṣṇa, it is possible to get free from māyā's victimization. Vegetables, grains, fruits, milk products and water are proper foods to offer to the Lord, as Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself prescribes.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- June 22, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Prabhupāda: No, I mean to say as in India there is limit, that you...

Kīrtanānanda: No, government puts no limit.

Prabhupāda: There is no land, therefore there is limit. (break)

Kīrtanānanda: Cauliflower, peas, beets, carrots, lettuce, spinach...

Prabhupāda: Potato?

Kīrtanānanda: Potato, broccoli,

Prabhupāda: Broccoli? What is that?

Kīrtanānanda: It is something like cauliflower.

Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: It's that green vegetable, Śrīla Prabhupāda, that's like cauliflower.

Prabhupāda: Cabbage?

Room Conversation -- August 2, 1976, New Mayapur (French farm):

Devotee (1): Yes, plenty, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Bring all them. (laughter)

Hari-śauri: He supplies us every day. What's this?

Woman devotee: This is lemon spinach.

Devotee (1): A type of sour spinach.

Bhagavān: Tastes like a lemon.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Very good.

Bhagavān: Anything else hidden in here? This is our apple?

Woman devotee: Sweet peas.

Room Conversation -- September 16, 1976, Vrndavana:

Haṁsadūta: Yes, everything, Śrīla Prabhupāda.

Prabhupāda: Anything fresh. Any cultivator, he has got little land surrounding his house and he's growing vegetables like squash, chilis, and some spinage, spinach?

Haṁsadūta: Spinach, śāka.

Prabhupāda: Yes. And...

Haṁsadūta: Eggplant.

Prabhupāda: Eggplant. And this banana. So whatever he's grown he takes in a basket, goes to the market, immediately sold. And they're all fresh. Collected in the morning, and it is sold by eight o'clock. All fresh vegetables. There was no export, there was no facility of transport. These rascals introduced transport. Big scale transport, this railway. There was no railway. So transport means this villager, instead of selling locally or one mile away, he will dispatch in Calcutta. The Calcutta people, they are sitting on table and smoking and printing paper money and exploit.

1977 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation -- January 8, 1977, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Or if you make two or three baras with nim, that is easy to take, and palatable. With chick pea flour, fresh nim leaf paste and equal quantity of chick pea flour. Just fry it.

Hari-śauri: Oh. Like those spinach pakoras.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Arundhati was doing that in Vṛndāvana.

Hari-śauri: With nim leaf?

Prabhupāda: Yes. She was doing nice.

Hari-śauri: You would like those for breakfast?

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is good for the... So if Arundhati makes, she can come and tomorrow make one or two baras in the morning.

Room Conversation -- October 2, 1977, Vrndavana:

Hari-śauri: Mung jal is ready.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: It's ready. Yes, we prepared mung water. Praṇava's wife, she was cooking with Kulādri today. She prepared two things, mung jal and the water from spinach. So that's supposed to be very good also. Would you like to try? Praṇava said that the feature of the spinach water is that it's very good for strength and very easily digestible. That's what he said. You might like to try something of both.

Prabhupāda: There is fresh milk? Half water, half milk.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Right now would you like to have some mung water?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Mung water. And spinach water?

Prabhupāda: Little, little.

1976 Correspondence

Letter to Balavanta -- Vrindaban 4 October, 1976:

Deity worship should not be expanded anymore if it is difficult to manage, but Nitai-Gaura can be worshiped. If devotees do not stay in the center that means your preaching is not very strong. Regarding offering spinach, just it should be very clean—everything should be done very cleanly. Regarding the name of your farm, Murari is a name of Krishna, so Murari Sevak means servant of Krishna.

The public should be convinced of this point: that there is life after death, and then prepare for the next life. Otherwise what is the difference between men and animals? If a man has to go outside his home, he has to make so many preparations, but an animal will not—that is the difference between a man and an animal.