The verse and its meaning · Ayurveda · Ayurveda — Food and Eating

When and How to Drink

Ashtanga Hridayam, Sutrasthana 5.15

समस्थूलकृशा भुक्तमध्यान्तप्रथमाम्बुपाः । शीतं मदात्ययग्लानिमूर्छाछर्दिश्रमभ्रमान् ॥ तृष्णोष्णदाहपित्तास्रविषाण्यम्बु नियच्छति । दीपनं पाचनं कण्ठ्यं लघूष्णं वस्तिशोधनम् ॥ हिध्माध्मानानिलश्लेष्मसद्यःशुद्धिनवज्वरे । कासामपीनसश्वासपार्श्वरुक्षु च शस्यते ॥ अनभिष्यन्दि लघु च तोयं क्वथितशीतलम् । पित्तयुक्ते हितं दोषे व्युषितं तत्त्रिदोषकृत् ॥

Meaning · English

Those who drink water partway through a meal, after it, or before it become even, stout, or lean. Cold water checks the sickness of excess drinking, weariness, fainting, vomiting, tiredness from exertion, giddiness, thirst, heat, burning, pitta and blood disorders (such as bleeding), and poison. Hot water kindles digestion and ripens, suits the throat, is light, and cleanses the bladder. It is praised in hiccup, bloating, vata and kapha, just after cleansing, new fever, cough, ama, head cold, breathlessness and pain in the sides. Boiled then cooled, water does not clog, is light, and is good where pitta is involved. Kept overnight, it upsets all three doshas.

Vagbhata starts with timing. Water drunk partway through a meal keeps the body even. Drunk after the meal, it builds bulk. Drunk before it, the body grows lean. He gives no reason here. The later commentators explain that water taken first dampens agni, the digestive fire, before food arrives, while water poured onto a full stomach adds heaviness. Then temperature. Cold water, he teaches, checks the sickness of excess drinking, weariness, fainting, vomiting, tiredness from exertion, giddiness, thirst, heat, burning, disorders of pitta (the hot, sharp principle) and of the blood (such as bleeding), and poison. Hot water kindles agni, ripens ama (undigested residue), suits the throat, is light and cleanses the bladder. He praises it in hiccup and bloating, and in troubles of vata (the moving, dry principle) and kapha (the heavy, moist one). He also praises it just after cleansing therapy, and in new fever, cough, ama, head cold, breathlessness and pain in the sides. Boiled then cooled, water stays light and does not clog the body's channels, and it suits conditions where pitta is involved. Kept overnight, it unsettles all three.

1. At lunch today, keep a glass of water by your plate. Take a few small sips partway through the meal, rather than a large glass just before you eat or straight after. 2. Boil a pot of water this morning and let it cool. Drink from it through the day. Pour away what is left at night instead of keeping it for tomorrow. 3. If a meal leaves you feeling heavy, sip a cup of warm water slowly afterwards instead of iced water, and notice how you feel an hour later.

Today's understanding agrees with parts of this. Water with meals does not harm digestion. A glass taken before eating can make people feel full sooner, which loosely echoes the link between drinking before a meal and leanness. There is no evidence, though, that the timing of a sip decides body shape. Warm drinks soothe a sore throat and can make a blocked nose feel easier. Cool water helps the body shed heat after exertion. Boiling makes water safe to drink, and stored water can pick up contamination again, which fits the warning about water kept overnight. The three doshas have no modern match. Very cold water in large amounts is unwise for someone feverish, frail, very young or very old. Fainting, bleeding, poisoning or fever need a doctor, not a glass of water.

अर्थ · हिन्दी

In this book

• Before: The Way to Eat · Charaka Samhita, Vimanasthana 1.24
• Next: The Measure of a Meal · Ashtanga Hridayam, Sutrasthana 8.1
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