Upanishads · Bhāvanā p19
॥
Devanāgarī
तेन मनुष्याणां मोहको दाहको भक्ष्यभोज्यशोष्यलेह्यपेयात्मकं चतुर्विधमन्नं पाचयति
Transliteration (IAST)
tena manuṣyāṇāṃ mohako dāhako bhakṣyabhojyaśoṣyalehyapeyātmakaṃ caturvidhamannaṃ pācayati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
तेन मनुष्याणां मोहकः दाहकःtena manuṣyāṇāṃ mohakaḥ dāhakaḥhence, in people, the darkening and burning [fire]
भक्ष्य-भोज्य-शोष्य-लेह्य-पेय-आत्मकंbhakṣya-bhojya-śoṣya-lehya-peya-ātmakaṃfood consisting of the chewable, edible, absorbable, lickable, and drinkable
चतुर्-विधम् अन्नं पाचयतिcatur-vidham annaṃ pācayatidigests the fourfold food
Translation
Hence, in people, the darkening and burning [fire] digests the fourfold food — the chewable, edible, absorbable, lickable, and drinkable.
Version
98b073105e3d · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Food is mapped by manner of intake: what is chewed, what is eaten with a spoon, what is sucked, what is licked, what is drunk. This mapping is ordinary and constant in ancient books: bhakṣya — what is chewed (flatbread, a nut); bhojya — what is eaten as a cooked dish; lehya — what is licked (honey, condensed milk); coṣya — what is sucked out (fruit, sugarcane); peya — drink. It is worth noting that the count is called fourfold food, though five are listed; this discrepancy is common in manuscripts and no great matter.
What is curious is something else: the Gītā speaks in these same words, in the verse cited above — catur-vidham annam, "fourfold food" (15.14). That is, before us is not a coincidence of thought but a direct borrowing of the phrase; and this śākta book, describing digestion, speaks in the Gītā's words. The Vaiṣṇava side treats food itself with an attention that seems excessive from outside, and the reason for it was already named when reading the Kāṭharudra (17): the body is composed of what is eaten. Let us add only what pertains to this line. Since food is distinguished by manner of intake, the offering too is distinguished: in the temple both the chewable and the drinkable and the lickable are offered; and this is done not for the completeness of the rite, but because a guest is served a variety.