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Onion and Egg Substitutes in cooking..

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Found this tonight while surfing around.

 

Q: Please let me know as to the proper substitutes for onions, garlic and eggs which we can take as practicing devotees.

 

A: (Vijaya-venugopala Das) Instead of onion and garlic, for taste and appearance, cut cabbage in small pieces like onions. Fry in a shallow pan (kadai), with lots of asafetida (hing). Tastes exactly like onion.

 

Egg - if you mean in cakes, you could use curds or condensed milk instead. Gives fantastic results. Buy the eggless cake cookbook, or there are plenty of eggless cake recipes in any ISKCON devotee authored cookbook.

 

(Kurma Das, chef) If you slice fresh fennel root into thin strips and fry with asafetida like the cabbage, it is even more like onion, with an extra lovely anise fragrance.

 

(Haripuja dd) As an egg substitute for baking, 2-3 tablespoons of yogurt can be used to substitute 1 egg.

 

 

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i've used the egg substitutes sold in stores, they

are useless,and tend to ruin anything they are put in.

generally they are arrowroot powder,which is a startch

unlike egg,which is a protein.

 

if a recipe for baked goods calls for eggs,just omit it,

it doesn't need it,if you do not like the result, a little extra baking powder,just a bit though.

 

generally eggs are put to help in the lightness of the baked good and help in rising, you don't need that with a good sifting and mixing of the flour, and when using baking powder mix gingerly,turning batter into itself lightly,

do not stir much,and cook immediatly,otherwise it loses

it's lightness and rising ability.

 

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when reading I noticd you mentioned hing...I don't know if you know the exact process for making hing, but heres the main part that concerns most strict vegetarian is that is they use raw hide(cow or horse)..when soaking it for many days..

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hing or asfeatida is a resin from the outside of a tree,

it is scraped off. i have never heard of some process

to make it, but i know that some sellers mix hing with various things,like rice flour.

what have you heard and where ?

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Use 'black salt' [purplish brown colored powedered salt also can be grayish pink more than 'black' and has a very special sulfery flavor] in small amounts it's great for creating an egg taste!

 

Try this - one cup kosher sour cream and one cup dry curd and 1/4 cup well diced celery [or use well drained cottage cheese] - mix all together then add 1/4 teaspoon hing and 1/4 teaspoon 'black salt' [or to taste] mix well - use just like egg salad - you can heat curd with hing and black salt and chedder cheese and make nice omlets!

 

Ask at your spice store for black salt [sANCHAL].

 

A good substitute for hing is pure fenugreek seeds - of course buy it already in powdered form [seeds are very hard like stones and hard to grind well!] and use in smaller amounts than hing - it works well - and it's much cheaper than hing and is also ok to cook with on ekadashi - as it has no flour in it.

 

BDM

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Asafoetida, or hing, is forbidden in several scriptures, including Hari-bhakti-vilasa. Prabhupada echoes this in his comments on SB 7.5.23-24 (quoting a list of seva-aparadhas from Varaha-purana):

 

"After eating, one should not worship the Deity until one has digested his food, nor should one touch the Deity or engage in any Deity worship after eating safflower oil or hing. These are also offenses."

 

Hing is not a sattvic foodstuff. It is also made from the resin of a tree and hence tainted with brahma-hatya-papa (BhP 6.9.6ff). Even common sense tells us that if something is exactly like onion, then chances are it shares the same gunas. Aside Vaisnava-scriptures, many other Hindu traditions routinely classify Hing as unfit for a sattvic diet (e.g. Swami Sivananda).

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What is exactly Funnel root. What is its hindi name?

I don't know the Hindi name of the plant itself, but the seeds, commonly used in cooking, are called mauri or saumph.

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Some of the items in your "forbidden foods" list are new world crops. Tomato for example is from central America, and it only came to Europe in the 1500's (and from there, on to India). In sanskrit there is no word for tomato, and even in hindi it is still referred to as tamatar (just a mispronunciation of tomato). What criteria do you use to decide that such items are "forbidden" in Vedic scriptures?

 

Also regarding hing, the quotation from Prabhupada seems to imply that one may eat hing, but should not immediately perform puja after it (due to the bad smell that it generates). I have not looked at the original verse, so it may be a rough translation that makes it unclear. But from the following:

 

"After eating, one should not worship the Deity until one has digested his food, nor should one touch the Deity or engage in any Deity worship after eating safflower oil or hing. These are also offenses."

 

1) After eating one should not worship the deity until having digested food

 

2) After eating hing one should not engage in deity worship.

 

If the second indicates one should never eat hing, then the first must indicate one should never eat at all (i.e. same sentence structure should result in same interpretation). If it was actually a complete ban on eating hing, then he could have just said "One should not eat hing." There was no need to include the part about "after eating hing... one should not do deity worship." The very fact that the word "after" is used indicates that hing is being consumed in some situations.

 

The first concept (of not doing puja after eating) is because one may belch or pass gass, etc. in front of the deity. This would tie in with the idea that the smell of hing on one's breath may be offensive to the deity. The fact that both concepts occurred presumably in close proximity verse wise (perhaps in the same verse) would indicate they are directly related in terms of cause of the offense. In other words it is not the act of eating that is the offense, nor the act of eating hing that is the offense, but the later results (i.e. belching, bad breath, etc.) that are the offense.

 

Regarding Swami Sivananda's statements against hing, it should be noted that he has also spoken against eating salt. He advocated a very strict discipline of sense control, avoiding all varieties of enjoyment including simple things like salt, sugar, etc. This may not be the same as a list of "forbidden foods" as found in the scriptures. Certain foods such as meat are without a doubt forbidden in scriptures. Other foods, such as salt, may be spiritually beneficial to avoid, but are not actually forbidden or sinful.

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The forbidden carrot :eek:

 

Here is another example of these "forbidden foods" lists being all mixed up. We know Narayana Maharaja's gaudiya matha also forbids the eating of carrots. And here in your list of forbidden foods you have included it as:

 

Carrot and turnip – gṛñjana

But grnjana refers to a variety of plants, the PRIMARY of which is a red onion. This can be confirmed by contacting a research scholar specializing in ayurvedic plants. Even if you look in a sanskrit dictionary, it will give the meaning as a small red onion. But people have ignored that and instead assume it refers to carrots. Looking at the list I can see there are so many similar items that get forbidden based on misinterpretation.

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Some of the items in your "forbidden foods" list are new world crops. Tomato for example is from central America, and it only came to Europe in the 1500's (and from there, on to India). In sanskrit there is no word for tomato, and even in hindi it is still referred to as tamatar (just a mispronunciation of tomato). What criteria do you use to decide that such items are "forbidden" in Vedic scriptures?

I'm familiar with the history of the tomato. A careful reading of the section where tomato is listed says, "The following items are either mentioned in the Vaishnava-smriti or have qualities distinct to items generally forbidden."

 

The criteria for "similar items" is something passed on as a heritage among sadhakas. This and many other topics need to be clarified in this draft of an article.

 

 

Obviously the context in the quote from Prabhupada on hing is with the possibility of belching. One may, however, wonder whether foods that smell so bad as to merit such restrictions are sattvic.

 

 

The very fact that the word "after" is used indicates that hing is being consumed in some situations.

There are many peculiarities in the scriptures. For example, HBV 15.117 describes the foods to be avoided during the four months of Caturmasya, and notes on the last month, kArtike cAmiSaM tyajet - "And in the month of Kartika, one should renounce meat." From this, one can deduct that meat is being eaten in some situations during the other eleven months of the year.

 

Granted, hing is also quite commonly used among Gaudiyas. Many items that are expressly forbidden repeatedly, such as eggplant, are also being commonly used...

 

 

 

Regarding Swami Sivananda's statements against hing, it should be noted that he has also spoken against eating salt. He advocated a very strict discipline of sense control, avoiding all varieties of enjoyment including simple things like salt, sugar, etc. This may not be the same as a list of "forbidden foods" as found in the scriptures. Certain foods such as meat are without a doubt forbidden in scriptures. Other foods, such as salt, may be spiritually beneficial to avoid, but are not actually forbidden or sinful.

I agree with the general assessment of forbidden vs. "avoiding beneficial". In this specific case, do you have comments on asafoetida's origin in a tree's resin?

 

Incidentally, I was reading P.D. Sharma's "Yogasana and pranayama for health" the other day, and the section on "A Suitable Diet" (ch. 16, 145ff) notes:

 

"Ancient books advise that the food which is excessively bitter, sour, saltish, pungent, hot or cold should not be given place in the diet. They also advise that one should avoid liquor, intoxicating things, fish, meat, eggs, asafoetida, garlic, onions and such other lustful (rajasika) food items in one's diet."

 

Hing is also mentioned in Padma-purana:

 

kuryAd vai dvija-zArdUla tailAbhyaMgaM ca varjayet |

chattrAkaM nAlikaM hiGguM palAGDuM pUtikAdalam || 4.21.21

 

I need to look up the context to ensure it isn't in the context of a specific vrata -- that's a quote off my unprocessed notes.

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We know Narayana Maharaja's gaudiya matha also forbids the eating of carrots.

Carrot is one of the more commonly avoided items throughout the Gaudiya tradition, at least in Vraja -- not only in Narayana Maharaja's group.

 

As with tomatos, the screaming red color (particularly in the Indian variety) hints at the presence of rajas. (And the effect may also be experienced through abstention and subsequent trial by one engaged in concentrated sadhana that calls for mental clarity.)

 

 

 

But grnjana refers to a variety of plants, the PRIMARY of which is a red onion. This can be confirmed by contacting a research scholar specializing in ayurvedic plants. Even if you look in a sanskrit dictionary, it will give the meaning as a small red onion. But people have ignored that and instead assume it refers to carrots. Looking at the list I can see there are so many similar items that get forbidden based on misinterpretation.

Can you refer to any particular scholar in this regard? Why is a red onion the primary meaning? I know M-W lists it as the first option, but Sir M-W wasn't a botanist -- therefore, the dictionary may not be reliable in determining the likelihood of one option over the other just on grounds of the order it lists items. There are definitely many shortcomings in it as far as flora and fauna are concerned.

 

You can see in the FRLHT database that grinjana is also used for carrot. The relevant HBV verse is also translated as carrot in Mahanambrata Brahmacari's Bengali translation of the work and in Nandalal Pandit's Bhakta-kanthahara. A search for grinjana in the FRLHT gives garlic and carrot as the two options. Garlic is generally called lasuna and has also been mentioned separately under that name in the same bundle of verses, thus ruling it out as a possible translation.

 

kaurme-

vRntAkaM jAlikA-zAkaM kusumbhAzmantakaM tathA |

palANDuM lazunaM zuklam niryAsaM caiva varjayet ||8.158||

gRJjanaM kiMzukaM caiva kukuNDaM ca tathaiva ca |

uDumbaram alAbuM ca jagdhvA patati vai dvijaH ||8.159||

 

In the above verse, you'll find palANDu (onion), lazuna (garlic) and gRJjana listed.

 

I would appreciate if you noted other misinterpretations you spot in the list. Some of the translations were quite hard to arrive at. The section of items from Hari-bhakti-vilasa has been translated on the basis of Monier-Williams and Cappeller dictionaries with cross-referencing several botanical databases with Latin names; in cases of multiple possible matches, the likely valid choice has been picked on the basis of (1) other restrictions of the same item under a different name, (2) traditional knowledge, and (3) the lower gunas being obviously (in my best assessment) present in it.

 

One of the prominent sources I used was http://www.frlht.org.in/meta/ - "FRLHT's Encyclopedia of Indian Medicinal Plants". If you have other good sources, I would be interested.

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As with tomatos, the screaming red color (particularly in the Indian variety) hints at the presence of rajas.

So you are saying red food is rajasic simply because its red. Sounds pretty superstitious to me. So if you eat the green tomatos then its sattvic. :) These types of lists are just people's whims, nothing to do with scripture.

 

Carrots were originally purple in color, but have since been changed to orange and white through farming methods. I suppose this is evidence for the purification of carrots, the white obviously being visuddha-sattva coming directly from sveta dvipa, the orange being rajasic, and purple being tamasic. :crazy:

 

 

Garlic is generally called lasuna and has also been mentioned separately under that name in the same bundle of verses, thus ruling it out as a possible translation.

It isn't ruled out because there are a dozen varities of garlic and onion, one being lasuna and another being grinjana. This is such an obvious thing even from the following:

 

 

In the above verse, you'll find palANDu (onion), lazuna (garlic) and gRJjana listed.

When you have a list of three items, all being primarily defined as onion/garlic variety plants, and yet you choose for the third one the indirect definition as carrot instead, it is pretty ridiculous. The verse is clearly speaking about a group of tamasic plants of the onion category. Carrots have none of the characteristics of the previous two, but grinjana (the red onion) is identical.

 

Anyway, let everyone decide for themselves whether the verse is speaking about "garlic, onions and red onions" or "garlic, onions and carrots". Likely it is a matter of your guru saying something, and naturally you have to defend his position, which is understandable. But logically it is not solid.

 

In sanskrit you have over 20 words for carrot, for the dozens of varities that exist. Grinjana is not the primary word for carrot, on the otherhand it refers primarily to an onion plant. But if your guru says eating carrot is sinful, you have to defend his words.

 

There are other mistakes in the list, but you should consult an ayurvedic botanist. Even a sanskritist will not be able to properly identify these items, as it is a technical subject. For example, just because I know English doesn't mean I know English botanical classifications. In english you have one word for banana, but in India there are perhaps 50 varieties of banana, each with different names and different gunas. But don't worry about bananas, because they are yellow (obviously screaming with sattva), except for the red variety of kerala (obviously screaming with rajas). :)

 

Even the site you are using lists grinjana as garlic:

 

http://www.frlht.org.in/meta/index.php?plantid=114&calledFrom=VIEW_ALL_SPECIES&sortBy=M&gPAGE_NO=38&gLOWER_LIMIT=740

 

And some sanskrit dictionaries...

 

Aapte's Sanskrit Dictionary:

 

meanings of "gRJjana" [1]

m.{a-stem}

1.a small red variety of garlic or onion (prohibited as food for dvija);

2.a turnip;

3.the tops of hemp chewed to produce intoxication

#20581

meanings of "gRJjana" [2]

n.{a-stem}

1.the meat of an animal destroyed by poisoned arrow

 

Cologne digital sanskrit dictionary (same as Monier Williams):

 

1 gRJjana m. (n. L.) a kind of onion or garlic or a small red variety of it (prohibited as food) Mn. v , 5 Yajn. i , 176 Bhpr. ; Nyayam &c. ; a turnip W. ; the tops of hemp chewed to produce an inebriating effect (the Ganja) W. ; n. poisoned flesh (meat of an animal destroyed by a poisoned arrow) L

 

Capeller's Sanskrit-English Dictionary:

 

1 gRJjana & -ka m. a kind of garlic.

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So you are saying red food is rajasic simply because its red. Sounds pretty superstitious to me. So if you eat the green tomatos then its sattvic. :) These types of lists are just people's whims, nothing to do with scripture.

Red is the characteristic color of rajas, I trust you'll agree on that. The presence of red, then, suggests a substantial possibility for the presence of rajas. Where is the superstition in that?

 

You'll find an abundance of scriptural references there, too -- don't be so quick to just brush it off wholesale.

 

 

 

 

It isn't ruled out because there are a dozen varities of garlic and onion, one being lasuna and another being grinjana. This is such an obvious thing even from the following:

 

When you have a list of three items, all being primarily defined as onion/garlic variety plants, and yet you choose for the third one the indirect definition as carrot instead it is pretty ridiculous. The verse is clearly speaking about a group of tamasic plants of the onion category. Carrots have none of the characteristics of the previous two, but grinjana (the red onion) is identical.

Please have a look at the list again. You'll see that most items in the list are not onion/garlic variety plants, unless you consider eggplant (vRntAka), safflower (kusumbha), resin of trees (niryAsa), bottle-gourd (alAbu) and so forth as having something to do with them. Each item in the below verses is translated in the list on the page, and gRJjana has no specific contextual link to palANDu and lazuna beyond any of the others.

 

 

 

Anyway, let everyone decide for themselves whether the verse is speaking about "garlic, onions and red onions" or "garlic, onions and carrots". Likely it is a matter of your guru saying something, and naturally you have to defend his position, which is understandable. But logically it is not solid.

It's as valid as your red onions unless you have some further notes on gRJjana. Your logic relies entirely in your grouping the three together. It is not, however, "garlic, onions and red onions" versa "garlic, onions and carrots" - they don't come in a series of three in such a context or sequence. It is:

 

vRntAkaM jAlikA-zAkaM kusumbhAzmantakaM tathA |

palANDuM lazunaM zuklam niryAsaM caiva varjayet ||8.158||

gRJjanaM kiMzukaM caiva kukuNDaM ca tathaiva ca |

uDumbaram alAbuM ca jagdhvA patati vai dvijaH ||8.159||

 

"Eggplant, kadamba-leaves, safflower, bauhinia-beans, onions, garlic, sour gruel, and the resin of trees should certainly be forsaken. Carrots (or turnips, or red onions), Butea frondosa, mushrooms, as well as figs, and bottle-gourd – having eaten them, the twice-born will certainly be fallen."

 

 

 

In sanskrit you have over 20 words for carrot, for the dozens of varities that exist. Grinjana is not the primary word for carrot, on the other hand it refers primarily to an onion plant. But if your guru says eating carrot is sinful, you have to defend his words.

 

There are other mistakes in the list, but you should consult an ayurvedic botanist. Even a sanskritist will not be able to properly identify these items, as it is a technical subject. Just because I know English doesn't mean I know plant classifications. In english you have one word for banana, but in India there are perhaps 50 varieties of banana, each with different names and different gunas.

 

[[ Aapte, M-W, Capeller. ]]

Aapte just copies Monier-Williams, and very possibly Sir M-W has it copied from the earlier Capeller entry. If anyone has Sanskrit-Hindi or Sanskrit-Bengali dictionaries at hand, could you please look up gRJjana to have an independent source of translation? Also, if you have other editions of Hari-bhakti-vilasa, I'd be interested in how it's translated. The recent English edition from Rasbihari Lal & Sons is entirely useless in this regard, it just lists the Sanskrit names.

 

Please be kind and point out the other mistakes in the list. Just noting that is not very helpful in improving the entry.

 

I'm afraid even a mere botanist won't do much good, as we're looking at ancient texts here. We would need a botanist, a historian and a Sanskritist in one person to be definitive. If you have leads, please let me know. That pending, I have taken support from existing traditions of interpretation.

 

Yes, my guru is among the many who say this. Carrot is avoided virtually everywhere in Vraja among traditional Gaudiyas, and I pointed you to two other published translations of the word gRJjana as "carrot".

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Red is the color of rajas, I trust you'll agree.

 

Sure, there goes apples, plums, and strawberries. All forbidden foods screaming with rajas according to your scientific logic. And oranges are obviously tinged with rajas as well, otherwise how would they become orange color? Purple grapes are obviously tamasic, but green ones are sattva.

 

Your logic has no foundation whatsoever. To include tomatos in a list of foods forbidden in scriptures, when that plant had never existed in India at the time the scriptures were written is just foolish. And why include it? "Because it's red, the color is just screaming with rajas." Ok, good luck on the forbidden foods list. :)

 

 

Can you please refer to a source aside Monier-Williams where grinjana is given the primary meaning of "onion plant"?

 

I had provided the following... But don't take my word for it. Just go out and ask someone who has studied ayurveda:

 

Even the site you are using lists grinjana as garlic:

 

http://www.frlht.org.in/meta/index.p...OWER_LIMIT=740

 

And some sanskrit dictionaries...

 

Aapte's Sanskrit Dictionary:

 

meanings of "gRJjana" [1]

m.{a-stem}

1.a small red variety of garlic or onion (prohibited as food for dvija);

2.a turnip;

3.the tops of hemp chewed to produce intoxication

#20581

meanings of "gRJjana" [2]

n.{a-stem}

1.the meat of an animal destroyed by poisoned arrow

 

Cologne digital sanskrit dictionary (same as Monier Williams):

 

1 gRJjana m. (n. L.) a kind of onion or garlic or a small red variety of it (prohibited as food) Mn. v , 5 Yajn. i , 176 Bhpr. ; Nyayam &c. ; a turnip W. ; the tops of hemp chewed to produce an inebriating effect (the Ganja) W. ; n. poisoned flesh (meat of an animal destroyed by a poisoned arrow) L

 

Capeller's Sanskrit-English Dictionary:

 

1 gRJjana & -ka m. a kind of garlic.

 

Which dictionaries have you consulted to get the definition "carrot"?

 

It's as valid as your red onions unless you have some further notes on gRJjana.

Don't worry, I am a fool and a madman. I obviously don't know what I'm talking about, so rest easy that your list is perfect.

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Sure, there goes apples, plums, and strawberries. All forbidden foods screaming with rajas according to your scientific logic. And oranges are obviously tinged with rajas as well, otherwise how would they become orange color? Purple grapes are obviously tamasic, but green ones are sattva.

 

Your logic has no foundation whatsoever. To include tomatos in a list of foods forbidden in scriptures, when that plant had never existed in India at the time the scriptures were written is just foolish. And why include it? "Because it's red, the color is just screaming with rajas." Ok, good luck on the forbidden foods list. :)

You don't really need to treat the topic like this, please.

 

When I say "suggests the possibility of", you treat it as "my scientific logic". I already noted that I am aware of the history of tomatos and that they are listed under "similar items", not as "forbidden in the scriptures", so you needn't point to that and say it's foolish.

 

Please, let's discuss this like gentleman instead of trying to make the other look stupid and call for the public to reject his views as ridiculous. It does not serve anyone's interests.

 

 

 

Don't worry, I am a fool and a madman. I obviously don't know what I'm talking about, so rest easy that your list is perfect.

I have already said that I would appreciate if you could give specific feedback on the errors to help me improve the entry. I do not understand what you hope to accomplish with something like the above.

 

 

 

Can you please refer to a source aside Monier-Williams where grinjana is given the primary meaning of "onion plant"?

...

I had provided the following...

I began replying before you had edited your post to include them. I have since then edited mine.

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Seeing that all dictionaries I have come across give the meaing as an onion, which dictionaries have you consulted to get the primary definition as "carrot"?

 

 

I do not understand what you hope to accomplish with something like the above.
Probably I said it because I have doubts you have even looked into a dictionary to check the meanings, yet are adamant in defending your position. What would be the use of asking for feedback without first consulting a dictionary?

 

Anyway, it is clear you are defending your guru's statements and as such any disagreement by others is vaishnava aparadha. So let the list include tomatos, cherries, carrots and apples. All forbidden by scripture.

 

Would you carry the color analysis to humans as well? Do you feel lighter skin color means someone possesses more sattva, and darker skin color indicates more tamas? Where exactly do you derive the "body/vegetable color = guna" theory from?

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Good egg replacer for baking - mix [whatever kind of] batter [you're making] then in another small bowl combine 2 table spoons of [kosher] yogurt with 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder - mix them and it shall become fluffy [within 30 seconds] - like whipped egg whites - then fold that mixture very carefully into the batter and pour into pans and bake as usual - this produces the best results!

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Seeing that all dictionaries I have come across give the meaing as an onion, which dictionaries have you consulted to get the definition "carrot"?

Of those three, Apte copies Monier-Williams, and Monier-Williams may be picking it off the earlier Capeller dictionary. A (red) garlic/onion is certainly a possible translation -- I'm not contesting that. You'll find that the (now revised) article contains the red onion as the third option and a footnote with further information.

 

I have pointed to two independent Bengali translations of the verse that render it as "carrot". The FRLHT botanical database gives both as possible translations:

 

1. Allium sativum (LILIACEAE)

2. Daucus carota Var. sativa (APIACEAE)

 

The (alphabetically) first is the Latin name for garlic, and the second for carrot.

 

The primary Sanskrit word for carrot, as far as I know, is gArjara.

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Probably I said it because I have doubts you have even looked into a dictionary to check the meanings, yet are adamant in defending your position. What would be the use of asking for feedback without first consulting a dictionary?

I explained my methodology in an early entry in this thread as follows:

 

Some of the translations were quite hard to arrive at. The section of items from Hari-bhakti-vilasa has been translated on the basis of Monier-Williams and Cappeller dictionaries with cross-referencing several botanical databases with Latin names; in cases of multiple possible matches, the likely valid choice has been picked on the basis of (1) other restrictions of the same item under a different name, (2) traditional knowledge, and (3) the lower gunas being obviously (in my best assessment) present in it.

 

I have now added a note of the same to the article, too.

 

 

 

Anyway, it is clear you are defending your guru's statements and as such any disagreement by others is vaishnava aparadha. So let the list include tomatos, cherries, carrots and apples. All forbidden by scripture.

For one more time -- please do not misrepresent this, I am abundantly clear in that some of the items are not specifically mentioned in the scriptures.

 

I have also been abudantly clear in that I welcome feedback and corrections. I have not mentioned aparadha anywhere in the course of this thread. Should it be of concern to you, my guru eats tomatos and eggplant.

 

 

 

Would you carry the color analysis to humans as well? Do you feel lighter skin color means someone possesses more sattva, and darker skin color indicates more tamas? Where exactly do you derive the "body/vegetable color = guna" theory from?

I have now added a footnote on tomato:

 

Tomato, its origin in the Americas, reached India only in the 18th-19th centuries. Its bright red color, combined with its heat-generating quality, has led some to classify it as an ingredient tainted by ''rajas''.

 

Is that good? Color is a possible indicator. Other indicators are taste, odor, growth environment and effects on the body.

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So basically you didn't consult any sanskrit dictionary, but when multiple dictionaries all have the same meaning ("onion"), none of which are "carrot", you assume you are still right and the dictionaries are all wrong.

 

Then you wonder why someone would reply like I did?

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So basically you didn't consult any sanskrit dictionary, but when multiple dictionaries all have the same meaning ("onion"), none of which are "carrot", you assume you are still right and the dictionaries are all wrong.

How do you figure I didn't consult any Sanskrit dictionary if I clerly wrote, "...has been translated on the basis of Monier-Williams and Cappeller dictionaries..." along with the rest of the methodology?

 

In assessing how to translate, I weighed the dictionary entry against the botanical database, two Bengali translations of the Hari-bhakti-vilasa verse, and traditional knowledge. It became carrot -- with a note on alternative meanings, of which turnip was there earlier, with the red-onion-garlic now added.

 

That aside -- regardless of whether I consulted dictionaries or not, I don't see what is accomplished by attempting to ridicule others' research. Can we please just go on in a polite manner without trying to make a bizarre innuendo out of this?

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Can you show a single dictionary you consulted where the definition was given as carrot? Yet, you were adamant that all the dictionaries that said "onion" were wrong. You make a show of asking for feedback... Why? When something is so obviously wrong and it is pointed out, you won't even hear it.

 

How do you figure I didn't consult any Sanskrit dictionary if I clerly wrote, "...has been translated on the basis of Monier-Williams and Cappeller dictionaries..."
Both dictionaries don't mention carrot at all, they both mention only "onion", but you discard both dictionaries in favour of someone's Bengali translation of Haribhakti Vilas. Then what was the use of consulting dictionaries? But you were certain that I was wrong (as well as all the dictionaries), because your bengali translation said carrots...

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