Bhagavad Gītā Chapter 17, Verse 8: Krishna to Arjuna — Śraddhātraya-Vibhāga-Yoga

Bhāṣyakāra purports

• Śaṅkaraadvaita

  Foods that augment life (ayus), mental clarity (sattva), bodily strength (bala), freedom from disease (arogya), contentment (sukha), and delight (priti) — foods that are savory (rasya), unctuous (snigdha), lasting in the body (sthira), and pleasing to the heart (hrdya) — these are dear to one of sattvic constitution. For the aspirant oriented toward jnana, sattvic nourishment steadies the antahkarana and removes the gross rajasic-tamasic obstructions to discriminative inquiry; food here is not an end but a preparatory discipline in service of nivrtti.

• Rāmānujaviśiṣṭādvaita

  Sattvic foods are dear to one who is endowed with sattva-guna, because they augment sattva itself — and by sattva is meant the antahkarana whose function is jnana, as confirmed by 'sattvat sanjayate jnanam' (14.17). Such foods also augment bala, arogya, sukha, and priti — the last through enabling the cheerful undertaking of pious actions pleasing to Bhagavan. They are sweet-flavored (rasya), unctuous (snigdha), of stable digestion (sthira), and agreeable in appearance (hrdya). For the devotee on the path of bhakti-yoga, proper nourishment of the body-instrument is kainkarya: it enables sustained, joyful service.

• Madhvadvaita

  Priti here is the immediate, uninterrupted delight that follows the meal; hrdyatva refers specifically to the pleasure of seeing the food (darsane), not merely tasting it. These foods are sthira in that they do not ripen (become ready) at that very instant — just as clarified butter (ajya) and similar substances must be properly prepared and are not consumed raw. For Madhva, the jiva's constitution and food-choices are eternally distinct features of individual nature, not collapsible into a single undifferentiated consciousness; proper sattvic food supports the jiva's dependently real worship of Hari.

• Vallabhaśuddhādvaita

  Sattvic foods are dear to one who is constituted of sattva; they augment life and also augment that which sattva denotes — jnana and its growth. They are sweet-flavored (rasya), unctuous (snigdha), of stable digestion (sthira), and beautiful in form (hrdya — ramy-asvarupah). Such foods are either producers of sattva or the beloved foods of sattvic persons; the essential purport is that they are ksemaskaras — genuinely protective and nourishing. In Pustimarga, the offering and enjoyment of sattvic prasada is itself participation in Krishna's lila; nourishment flows downward as grace, not upward as effort.

• Śrīdharabhakti

  Ayus is life itself; sattva is enthusiasm (utsaha); bala is capacity (sakti); arogya is freedom from disease; sukha is clarity of mind (citta-prasada); priti is relish and inclination (abhiruci). Foods that especially promote these six qualities — rasya (full of flavor), snigdha (unctuous), sthira (remaining long in the body in their essential substance), hrdya (pleasing to the heart at the very sight) — covering the whole range of things chewed, sucked, licked, and drunk, are dear to persons of sattvic nature. The bhakta recognizes in such food a gift of the Lord that sustains the body-instrument for devoted service.

• Madhusūdanaadvaita-bhakti

  Ayus is long life; sattva is the steadiness of mind (citta-dhairya) that remains unperturbed even under heavy suffering; bala is bodily competence that makes proper action effortless; arogya is absence of disease; sukha is the pleasure and satisfaction (trypti) following the meal; priti is the keenness of appetite (iccha-utkantya) present at the time of eating. Foods that specially promote all these — rasya (predominantly sweet-flavored), snigdha (naturally or adventitiously unctuous), sthira (long-lasting in body through their nutritive essence), hrdya (pleasing, free from the seen-and-unseen faults of bad smell or impurity) — covering all four modes of eating, are dear to sattvic persons. Such persons may be recognized by these signs, and those aspiring to sattva should take up these foods.