Page:A Short History of Aryan Medical Science.djvu/74

a meal he is to leave off eating and not to take any food during the day. The name of "Hanumana, son of Anjanee" is mentioned to avert the influence of evil eyes, and also the name of the Supreme Being, who "is the Fire residing in the bodies of living creatures, where, joined with the two spirits which are called Prana and Apana, He digests the food which they eat, which is of four kinds" (Bhagvat Gita, xv. 14). The four kinds of food above referred to are (a) those to be masticated with the teeth, as bread; (b) those licked with the tongue, as chutney ; (c) those sucked in with the lips, as mango ; and (d) those simply imbibed, as liquids. The various dishes are served one after another in a prescribed order and are put in the places assigned to them. The food placed before one is to be treated with divine respect, such treatment being conducive to health and strength (Manu, ii. 55). Pomegranates, sugar-cane, and similar things, should be eaten first and never at the end of dinner. It is good to take hard and butyraceous substances in the beginning, soft viands in the middle, and the liquids towards the end of the meal. Similarly, sweets are to be taken first ; salt and acid things next ; and pungent, bitter, and astringent things