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Ghee, Best of Fats

Ashtanga Hridayam, Sutrasthana 5.37

शस्तं धीस्मृतिमेधाग्निबलायुःशुक्रचक्षुषाम् । बालवृद्धप्रजाकान्तिसौकुमार्यस्वरार्थिनाम् ॥ क्षतक्षीणपरीसर्पशस्त्राग्निग्लपितात्मनाम् । वातपित्तविषोन्मादशोषालक्ष्मीज्वरापहम् ॥ स्नेहानामुत्तमं शीतं वयसः स्थापनं परम् । सहस्रवीर्यं विधिभिर्घृतं कर्मसहस्रकृत् ॥ मदापस्मारमूर्छायशिरःकर्णाक्षियोनिजान् । पुराणं जयति व्याधीन्व्रणशोधनरोपणम् ॥

Meaning · English

Ghee is praised for understanding, memory, retention, digestive fire, strength, long life, semen and sight. It suits children and the old, and those who want offspring, radiance, delicacy and a good voice. It suits the wounded, the wasted, and those worn down by spreading inflammation, by blade or by fire. It removes vata, pitta, poison, madness, wasting, misfortune and fever. Best of the fats, cooling, foremost in holding back age, of a thousand strengths, ghee prepared by right methods does a thousand works. Aged ghee overcomes intoxication, epilepsy, fainting, and diseases of head, ear, eye and womb, and it cleanses and heals wounds.

Vagbhata gives ghee the fullest praise of any food in this chapter. First, what it builds: dhi (understanding), smriti (memory), medha (the power to hold what is learned), agni (the digestive fire), strength, lifespan, semen and eyesight. Then who it suits: children, the old, those hoping for a child, and anyone wanting a bright complexion, a soft body or a clear voice. It is for the wounded, the wasted, and those exhausted by a spreading skin inflammation, a surgeon's blade or a burn. He counts it against vata and pitta, the body's moving and heating forces, and against poison, madness, wasting, fever and alakshmi, ill fortune. He calls it the best of all fats, cooling, the foremost keeper of youth. He says ghee of a thousand strengths, prepared by the right methods, does a thousand works: it takes on the virtues of whatever it is processed with. Ghee kept for years, purana ghee, he reserves for intoxication, fits, fainting, troubles of head, ears, eyes and womb, and for cleaning and closing wounds.

Picture ghee warming in a small pan before cumin seeds and curry leaves go in. Within seconds the kitchen smells of them, and that ghee, poured over dal, carries their flavour into every spoonful. This is what Vagbhata means by a thousand strengths and a thousand works: ghee takes on whatever is cooked into it and carries it where it goes.

Ghee is clarified butter. Removing water and milk solids lets it keep well and cook at high heat without burning. It is mostly saturated fat and carries some vitamins A and E. One part of the old idea matches today's knowledge: many vitamins and plant compounds dissolve in fat, so cooking spices in fat helps the body take them up. There is no good evidence that ghee sharpens memory, lengthens life or improves eyesight beyond its place in an ordinary diet, and nothing supports it for fits, mental illness, poisoning or wounds, which need a doctor. Aged fat oxidises, and today's view prefers fresh. People told to limit saturated fat for heart or cholesterol reasons should treat it as a rich food. Enjoying it in cooking is different from taking it as a medicine.

अर्थ · हिन्दी

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• Before: The Nature of Milk · Ashtanga Hridayam, Sutrasthana 5.20
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