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Bhkshya, bhojya, etc. are the different types of food (chewed, licked, sucked,...) mentioned in many scriptures and said the Brahmans should be fed with six kinds of food.
The definition of bhakshya in Wisdomlib refers to Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa Ayodhyākāṇḍa 94.20.
Please can someone provide list and details of the six kinds of food (references from Ramayan or other scriptures) and, ideally, with some present day food examples.
The list is as follows;
Khadya:- hard bitten food like Nuts.
Bhakshya:- foods that are not hard but need to be chewed like Daal Chawal (Rice and Curry).
Bhojya:- eatable liquid foods like daliya and soup.
Choshya:- food that can sucked like Sugarcane, pickle etc.
Lehya:- food that can be locked like honey, ice cream etc.
peya:- Drinks like milk, tea and other beverages.
The mention of all these six together is not given in any scripture as far as I know. All these items are mentioned in pair of four and five in different Puranas.
Skanda Purana 5:1:60. All the four types of foodstuffs such as Bhakṣya, Bhojya, Lehya and Peya should be served.
But this chapter of same Purana gives a different list of four traditional items also called Caturvidham annam.
- There were many types of sweet dishes and side-dishes of various kinds. There were four traditional types of food-stuff, viz. Peya (beverages), Coṣya (foodstuff worthy of being sucked), Khādya (food to be chewed) and Lehya (food worthy of being licked and lapped up). There were many meat dishes well sesoned [seasoned?] with salt etc.
Ayurveda describes 6 types of food based on the Rasa Dathu. So the physical consistency has no real bearing unless the constitution itself changes. For example, eating a piece of mango with a fork vs squishing it and eating it with a spoon will not alter the Rasa Dathu. However, converting Curd (Yogurt) into buttermilk does change both consistency and Rasa. Here is a copy/paste of the article by Vasanth Lad a renowned Ayurvedic master, who is in collaboration with Banyan Botalicals. Here is the source link and it's content below:
According to Ayurveda, it is incredibly important to taste our foods, our herbs—our lives. Rasa, the Sanskrit word for taste, has a number of potent meanings, among them: experience, enthusiasm, juice, plasma (as in rasa dhatu), and essence.
These diverse meanings only hint at the significance of taste within the Ayurvedic tradition. Rasa is, in a very real way, the essence of life and quite literally affects every aspect of our being—from structure and physiology straight through to our overall state of mind and consciousness.
Ayurveda sees rasa, or taste, as a tremendously powerful therapeutic tool that determines not only how we experience our food, but ultimately, the overall flavor of our existence.
Taste is assigned a much deeper significance in Ayurveda than we are accustomed to in the West; it is considered critically important in determining the effect that various foods, spices, therapeutic herbs, and experiences will have on our state of balance—body, mind, and spirit.
Ayurveda recognizes six tastes, each of which has a vital role to play in our physiology, health, and well-being. The sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent tastes combine in countless ways to create the incredible diversity of flavors we encounter throughout our lives.
Even the same substance can taste differently depending on where it is grown or raised, when it is harvested, whether it is stored or preserved, if and how it is cooked or processed, and how fresh or how old it is.
Thus, taste can tell us a great deal not only about what we’re ingesting, but also about the physical and energetic qualities we’re taking in as a result.
In many ways, taste is a living representation of experience: that of the substances we take in, and our own, as we taste them. Ayurveda teaches us to fully acknowledge, appreciate—even relish—the variety of flavors we encounter throughout each day. Only then can we truly harness taste’s potential to affect positive change in our minds and bodies.
Tending to the experience of taste also helps us better understand the six tastes, cultivate a deeper relationship with each of them, and begin to adapt our habits according to what we learn.
Triphala products Triphala products Shop Now Breaking Down the Experience of Taste One of the foundational teachings of the Ayurvedic tradition is that everything in the universe is composed of five elements—earth, water, fire, air, and ether (space). The tastes are no different; each of them contains all five elements. That said, each taste is predominantly composed of two elements.
The 6 Tastes and Their Predominant Elements
Sweet (Madhura) Earth & Water Sour (Amla) Earth & Fire Salty (Lavana) Water & Fire Pungent (Katu) Fire & Air Bitter (Tikta) Air & Ether Astringent (Kashaya) Air & Earth
From these elementary beginnings, the experience of taste initiates a complex cascade of influences that touches every aspect of the mind-body organism. For each substance, that mosaic includes its:
Rasa, or taste (a single taste or a combination of different tastes) Aggravating or pacifying effect on each of the doshas (vata, pitta, kapha) Virya, or temperature (whether the substance is heating or cooling in nature) Vipaka, or post-digestive effect (affects the excreta and nourishes individual cells) Prabhava, or an unpredictable action unique to a particular substance (i.e. ghee is cooling and yet it kindles the digestive fire) Gunas, or associated qualities Affinity for particular organs or tissues Direction of movement within the body Emotional influence
The combination of all of these factors can affect a wide range of responses in different individuals. While each substance is undoubtedly unique, each of the six tastes tends to exert a somewhat predictable influence on our physiology.
