Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 6.18.49
Manvantara· The Manus and right dutyAccept Food Offered to Lord Viṣṇu
“Never eat leftover food, never eat prasāda offered to the goddess Kālī [Durgā], and do not eat anything contaminated by flesh or fish. Do not eat anything brought or touched by a śūdra nor anything seen by a woman in her menstrual period. Do not drink water by joining your palms.”
What the purport teaches
- Kaśyapa Muni forbade Diti to eat food contaminated by flesh or fish. The purport explains that offerings to Kālī generally contain such food.
- A Vaiṣṇava does not accept food offered to the demigods. A Vaiṣṇava remains fixed in accepting prasāda offered to Lord Viṣṇu.
- Through these prohibitions, Kaśyapa Muni was teaching Diti how to become a Vaiṣṇavī.
Try this today
For one meal today, choose prasāda offered to Lord Viṣṇu rather than food containing flesh or fish.
Ask yourself
How does my choice of food support my devotional practice?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.