Page:Sushruta Samhita Vol 1.djvu/663

Chap.XLVI.] fluid components is not imperfectly digested, nor is attended by any acid reaction. Moderation in food leads to a happy and perfect digestion and tends to maintain the fundamental principles of the body in their normal state.

During the cold months, when the nights are longer, substances, which tend to subdue the bodily humours which are naturally deranged during that season, should be eaten in the morning, while during the seasons, when the days are inordinately long, things which are congenial in those seasons should be eaten in the afternoon. (In spring and autumn ) when days and nights are equal, the meal should be taken just at the middle part of the day and night.*

A meal should not be eaten before the appointed time, nor before the appetite has fully come. Similarly, over or insufficient eating should be equally refrained from. Eating at an improper time and before the system feels light and free brings on a large number of diseases, and may ultimately lead to death. A meal eaten at an hour long after the appointed time tends to aggravate the bodily Vayu, which affects the